Peace & Joy
by skygirl55
Summary: The lives of Kate and Jim Beckett are turned on end when a mysterious stranger arrives in town and joins them for the Christmas season. Though they don't know it, the appearance of Rick Rodgers is far from coincidental, and might just change all three lives forever. Entry in the Castle Winter Hiatus Ficathon 2015-2016
1. Prologue

_The lives of Kate and Jim Beckett are turned on end when a mysterious stranger arrives in town and joins them for the Christmas season. Though they don't know it, the appearance of Rick Rodgers is far from coincidental, and might just change all three lives forever. Entry in the Castle Winter Hiatus Ficathon 2015-2016_

 _**Note** This story has been inspired by the movie The Christmas Card (2006)_

* * *

 _A/N - First of all - yes this story has been inspired by a holiday movie from a decade ago. Which, incidentally, if any of you have not yet seen the movie, I highly recommend watching it - Hallmark should play it sometime in December during their holiday movie 24/7 extravaganza. The Christmas Card is without a doubt the best of the best (and I realize given that its Hallmark, the movie quality bar is set pretty low, but it's really great!)_

 _I will also be posting this story "live" - that is to say that the story takes place in December and I will post chapters on the days they occur in story time. This means you'll get about 3-4 chapters a week but on random days. (Occasionally multiple chapters take place on the same day, so the posting schedule will be modified a bit in these cases.) Though I'm still writing, per my outline the story will finish on New Years Day._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Prologue**

 _2008_

With a heavy exhale, Kate Beckett sat down at the large six-seater dining room table and surveyed the set-up before her. One hundred cards were stacked in four even piles to her left. A foot in front of her sat an equal number of envelopes in equivalent piles. Down one side of the table lay a damp sponge for sealing the envelopes, stickers for decorating them, and, finally, an empty box to put the completed cards in. She was officially ready. At least, insofar as supplies. Mentally it was another story.

For the prior eight years Kate had been in charge of her hometown's Operation Christmas Cheer. She would collect the hundreds of cards created by various volunteers and ship them off to whichever military base (or bases) they were sponsoring that year. Not since she was little had she actually made the cards herself. Running the event was enough work, but with Mrs. Henderson's baby arriving early and Mrs. McCarthy's mother being ill she was two volunteers short and, rather than short-change the men and women in uniform, she decided to pick up the slack herself.

Shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath, Kate picked up the first card from the stack. That year, they had three different style cards printed with their generic message of greeting. The card Kate held was what she so eloquently called in her mind "the green one" since the entire background of the card was a solid emerald green tone. In the foreground, a white cartoon dove flew holding a black olive branch. The gold scripted lettering above the dove read _Peace & Joy_.

Kate flipped open the card and skimmed over the greeting—the same one they'd been using for the prior few years.

 _Dear Soldier,_

 _Greetings from New Hampshire! Those of us here in Hinsdale are wishing you a warm, happy holiday season. We cannot imagine how difficult it must be for you to be away from your family and loved ones over the holidays, but please know we are eternally grateful for your service to our great country. Wishing you a joyful holiday season and a safe return home!_

Kate twisted her lips to the side as she stared down at the message. It was good. Nice. But it needed more. It felt so…generic. She flattened the card against the table, picked up her pen and began to write down her thoughts.

 _Every year our town gets together and sends holiday cards to soldiers stationed all over the world, and while it's a great gesture, sometimes it feels a little impersonal. I don't know you and you don't know me, but I'd still like to wish you holiday cheer._

 _Christmas used to be my favorite holiday. Like all children, I went to bed dreaming about what presents Santa would leave me under the tree. Even as I grew older I would still race out of bed on Christmas morning and sit patiently beneath the tree waiting for my parents to get up and finally let me open my gifts. But when my mother died, it felt like my holiday spirit went along with her; I didn't feel like celebrating anymore. Unfortunately, that's not an option in my life; my family owns a Christmas tree farm._

 _Now, Christmas has become just a season for me to get through, but that's not any way to live. I know Christmas today feels so commercialized with Christmas music starting in stores in mid-November and sale ads littering the mail with enticing slogans and rock bottom deals, but that's not what Christmas is about. Christmas is about family and about hope. I encourage you to find a way to celebrate even though you might not have the strongest holiday spirit. And, once you find a way to do that, apply it to every season of life—not just Christmas—for then you will truly be living._

 _If you ever find yourself in Hinsdale around Christmastime stop by our lot—Beckett's Trees—and you can have one on us (or, if a Christmas tree is too impractical for you to take with you, you can have one of our handmade ornaments instead)._

 _Happy Holidays,_

 _Kate_

She set her pen down and stared down at the word she'd written, surprised that she had made such a confession in a card bound for a complete stranger. For a moment, she considered throwing the card away and starting fresh with a new one, but she couldn't do that. The army was expecting a certain number of cards and she couldn't afford to waste one.

With a shrug, she reached forward and picked up an envelope to slide her personalized card in. She placed the packaged card to her far right, just beside the damp sponge, deciding that she would do one quarter of the cards at a time.

On the next one she picked up—a card with a large, centralized white dove on a midnight blue background—she only wrote the end of her previous message.

 _Happy Holidays,_

 _Kate_

Though it was barely more personal than the pre-printed message, at least it was hand written. Perhaps, she thought as she reached for the third card—same style as the second except with a cherry red background—if the mood struck her she would write a longer message on some of the cards. Otherwise, they would all be the same, but at least one person stationed in the Middle East would get a personalized message. She only hoped they'd appreciate it.


	2. Chapter 1

_A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews/follows! I am so glad to see a large portion of you have seen The Christmas Card! BTW - I know as of last week it was on Netflix if anyone wants to check it out!_

* * *

 **Chapter One**

 _2009_

For as long as Kate Beckett could remember, Thanksgiving never meant turkey, stuffing, or football. Kate could not recall a holiday during which she and her family sat down to an oven-roasted bird with all the trimmings. In fact, most times they only thing remotely Thanksgiving-like they received that day was a turkey sandwich made with the sliced kind one could pick up at a deli.

Neither she nor her parents had any particular grievances against the November holiday. It simply fell during a time of year they did not have a chance to breathe let alone stop and make a large meal. For the Beckett family, the last two weeks in November revolved exclusively around one thing: Christmas trees.

Promptly on December first of every year Beckett's Trees opened for business. The Beckett family was infamous for their robust, lovely scented tree. Fir, pine, and spruce—they were all exquisite and perfectly suited for adorning households with Christmas joy. Loyal customers often drove over an hour to visit the Beckett lot and the family patriarch, Jim, refused to disappoint any of them so come hell, high water, or several feet of snow, they opened December first like clockwork.

Granted, in a year like that one, when December first fell on a Tuesday, the volume of traffic on the first sales day was minimal at best. However, that did not deter Jim Beckett. He insisted that the tree lot be fully stocked just in case they had a rush of families ready to pick out the best early season tree. Meaning the Beckett family devoted the last two weeks in November—Thanksgiving included—to cutting, prepping and setting up the trees on their lot.

To thirty-year-old Kate Beckett, her father's insistence on tradition merely made her smile and roll her eyes. Though she tried to talk some sense into him, it never worked, which meant she spent the last few days of the eleventh month hauling Christmas trees into the lot along with her father, aunt, uncle and the two part-time teenaged helpers they'd hired for the season. And, just like every year, on the evening of November thirtieth when all the trees were set up and waiting, she thought to herself _come December twenty-sixth if I ever see another fir it'll be too soon_. Twenty-six days and counting.

As expected, the first Saturday of the month of December was the most exciting, busiest day. Every family wanting to kick off the month with a proper level of holiday spirit rushed out to get their tree generally in the late morning or around lunch time. Parents with excitable children running around. Older couples occasionally with a dog on a lead. Couples hoping to pick out their first tree together.

Though her patience would wear very thin by the end of the day, Kate managed to smile genuinely at these early patrons. Their excitement and cheer rubbed off on her…that was until she was doused in her first cup of coffee and nearly tripped by a runaway dog. Then, the job went back to its regular drudgery which had her counting down the hours until the lot closed at four.

Shortly after one p.m., Kate strolled around the lot taking advantage of the brief lull to check up on stock and organize anything put out of place by the lunchtime rush. She picked up two empty take-away cups of coffee someone had left by the Noble firs and set a plastic Santa statue upright again before circling around towards the front of the lot making sure each tree was displayed to convey maximum attractiveness.

As she surveyed the area, Kate took note of a couple she suspected to be around her aunt and uncle's age, perhaps a little older, observing the selection of Eastern White pines. As she believed them to be the only people in the lot, she decided to cut down a row of Douglas firs to reach them more directly when she almost bumped into a man she hadn't notice before. It appeared he had also been intent on taking a shortcut through the rows.

"Oh! Excuse me, sir." She took a step back quickly and, for the first time, looked up at his face. He was taller than her by more than a few inches, putting him right around six feet, possibly a little taller. His skin was pale in contrast to his dark brown hair, which was cut very short in a style she typically associated with men attempting to hide a receding hairline, though on this man she didn't see one. With his sky blue eyes and square jaw he was handsome for sure, though was struck her the most was his leather jacket, which was not at all appropriate for the weather. True, as it had rained the night before, it was rather warm for that time of year. Still, a balmy thirty-six only meant she wasn't wearing an extra fleece under her winter coat; a leather jacket—not to mention a lack of gloves—was hardly appropriate.

"No, it's my fault; I ran into you."

His tone was smooth and it made her smile involuntarily. Kate cleared her throat and adjusted the red apron she wore over her coat. While not flattering, it was the only way to distinguish her as an employee and not a patron when outdoor winter wear was required. "Can I help you with something?"

"I'm just browsing for now, thanks."

"Sure! If you see anything you're interested in, come find me." Then, with another smile, she slipped past him and made her way towards the couple who appeared to have decided on a pine.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later as Kate's father was helping the couple—Mary and Joe—load their pine onto the top of their sedan, Kate's eyes turned back to the man she'd bumped into earlier. He had left the rows of evergreens and was now standing by the hut which served as their makeshift on-site office. Adorning the outside walls were dozens of handmade Christmas ornaments and he examined each as though they had a story to tell.

Kate snagged her bottom lip with her teeth as she looked at him. His presence struck her as odd. Though it was not entirely unheard of for a single man to be picking out a Christmas tree or other related decorations, it was unusual. Generally, men came with their wives or significant others of the female persuasion. It was possible that this man was picking out a tree for his family, but it seemed more likely to her that if he was picking out a tree, it was one for himself. Therein, the story became stranger.

Hinsdale was certainly far from the largest city in New Hampshire. Kate hesitated to think that it classified as a city at all. At most, it was probably a town—a decent sized one, but one that was small enough for her to be familiar with many of the residents. In particular: the single male residents. The reason for this was simple; her aunt apparently had taken it on as her life's mission to introduce Kate to each and every one of them. Kate did not recognize the man leafing through her aunt's ornaments, which piqued her curiosity for him even further.

"Katie?"

Her father's voice pulled her from her thoughts. She turned towards the man equal to her in height and hummed with a smile.

Her father's head tilted to the side and he looked at her with the same half amused, half proud expression he used on her since she was very little. "Would you mind checking the row of pines? I knocked a few when I pulled that last tree and I want to make sure I didn't make them all fall like dominos."

Kate let out a light chuckle; it certainly wouldn't be the first time. "Of course, Dad." She went to turn away then paused, observing the dark circles under his eyes and the creases in his forehead. "You feeling okay, Dad?"

He smiled at her, though wearily. "Of course. It's just been a long morning. I might be getting to old for this, Katie."

"Never." She promised him before pressing a quick kiss on his cheek. "The first busy day is always the hardest."

Slipping her hands down into her coat pocket, Kate walked towards the row of pines and found that, thankfully, other than the first two none of the other trees had been knocked over. Kate ducked inside their wooden barrier and began righting the trees so that they were displayed in a more visually attractive manner. As her father always said no one would buy a tree they couldn't picture looking perfect in their living room.

Several minutes later, her task complete, Kate stepped out of the barrier and caught the edge of her boot heel on the wooden slats, causing her to stumble forward a few steps. Just as she was about to grumble at her own clumsiness the sound of screeching tires pulled her attention away. An engine roared, tires wailed against the payment and she heard a man's yelp before a catastrophically loud crash.

Kate's blood immediately froze in her veins and her heart was shocked to a stop. "Dad!" She called out, running full speed towards the front of the lot. Just a she reached the end of the final row of trees, carnage came into view.

A rust colored sedan was parked with the front corner of its hood jammed into their nearly dilapidated on-site office. Beside it, Jason, the teenaged boy who had been inside, stood shell shocked. Kate continued to rush forward and stopped just short of the car, her hands shooting to her mouth with a gasp.

Lying on the street just a few feet from the car was her father. He was sprawled out just below the handsome, leather-coat wearing stranger. Kate shrieked. "Dad! Oh god Dad! What happened?"

Kate rushed around the back of the vehicle just as the driver, a frazzled elderly woman Kate recognized as the wife of the town's bookstore owner, stepped out. "Oh oh! I'm so sorry! I couldn't stop! Is he…is he all right?"

Kate dropped to her knees on the street beside her father's head. She skimmed her fingertips over his hair and he moaned. This sound both brought her relief, as it signaled he was alive, and terror, for it sounded as though he was injured. Wide-eyed, she looked up at the stranger, who gazed back at her and said, "I think you should probably call 911."

* * *

 _A/N: I bet you can't guess who the handsome stranger turns out to be :P_

 _A programming note: the "live" posting portion of this story will begin Saturday and continue from that point forward. Also, how convenient is it that the 2009 calendar and the 2015 calendar are the same - insofar as which dates fall on which days of the week!? So convenient! :)_


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Kate Beckett paced the lobby of Brattleboro Memorial Hospital with such vigor she wasn't sure which would wear through first: the tile floor or the soles of her shoes. Every few moments she would stop and stare at the emergency room doors with a borderline terrified expression and then resume her pacing. She hated hospitals; she hated waiting.

While in the back of the ambulance, her father had been conscious enough to tell her that he was fine and there was no need to worry. As he moaned in agony with every bump the ambulance made, this did no assuage her feelings in the least. Worst yet, she was entirely helpless; only the ambulance and hospital personnel could aid him.

After she called 911, the stranger briefed her on what he had witnessed. The roar of the approaching sedan had roused his attention and, seeing that the vehicle was heading directly for her father, he reacted on instinct and tackled the elder Beckett to the ground just as the car skidded into the office. Thanks to his actions, the car itself was not responsible for her father's injuries, which probably meant they were not life threatening (an unspeakable relief to Kate); however, the EMT did seem concerned about her father hitting his head when he hit the pavement, which was what caused Kate the most worry.

Kate heard the doors to the emergency area open and she whipped around. Upon seeing a young, blonde man with a fresh set of stiches across his forehead walk slowly out, Kate's shoulders deflated. No news yet.

The opening and closing of the doors caused a medicinal smell to sear the inside of Kate's nostrils and she had to turn away. Such a scent dredged up unpleasant memories for her past trips into hospitals and emergency rooms. Though the bulk of them had been over a decade prior the memory was enough to make her stomach flip in her gut.

Finally, after nearly forty minutes of waiting, a nurse called for Kate to go back into the emergency area and rejoin her father. It took every ounce of the woman's self-control not to dead-sprint past the nurse and into the curtained-off area in which her father waited. Instead, she walked with clipped steps staying no more than five inches behind the black-haired woman shaped oddly like a Russian nesting doll.

When her father came into view, Kate could not help but gasp out, "Dad!" and hurry to his side. Jim's right arm was almost completely encased in a ridged, mechanical looking brace that traveled from his mid-forearm to his mid-bicep. In addition, he wore a sling keeping the arm tight across his midsection. As if that weren't enough, two butterfly bandages were taped to a cut just above his right eyebrow.

"Your father is a very lucky man," the nurse standing beside him informed her.

Kate looked at the woman, slightly startled. From her father's appearance alone, Kate could not understand how that statement was possible. "What's wrong with his arm?"

"Nothing, Katie; I'm fine."

Not accepting this response, Kate turned instead to the nurse.

"Dislocated shoulder and a hairline crack in his elbow—but don't worry; it's not major enough to require surgery. Only the brace."

"Oh god, Dad!" Kate exhaled, shaking her head and fighting the trembling in her bottom lip. He was okay; he was going to be okay. Kate knew enough about injuries to know that those would cause annoyance and irritation at their worst. At least, in the long run. In the short term he would probably be in no small amount of discomfort. "But his head? His head is ok?"

"I never hit it on the pavement, Katie. My shoulder and arm took the brunt of the fall. Clearly," he added with the gesture of his left hand towards the immobilized arm. Pressing her lips together, Kate looked to the nurse for confirmation; the nurse nodded.

"Ah, Mr. Beckett. Ready to go home?"

Kate turned to see a doctor in a white coat approaching with a soft smile.

"Please!" Jim responded.

The doctor chuckled and looked at Kate. "You're the daughter?" After she confirmed with a nod, the doctor continued. "Well, I'm afraid your father's right arm will be out of commission for a little while. His shoulder should be fine in a few days, but that elbow will need to be immobilized for at least a few weeks and then he could be looking at some physical therapy, depending on the stiffness of the arm."

Kate nodded and glanced down at the metal contraption he wore. "Will he get a cast?"

"No, no; no need for that. The brace will be sufficient. He's very lucky. If that car had hit him…" The doctor paused and grimaced. "We'd be having a very different conversation."

When the doctor walked away, the nurse began to help Kate's father put his jacket on over the injured arm. During this, Jim looked at his daughter and said, "Did you call your aunt to pick us up?"

Kate shook her head. "I did, but she didn't answer. I'm going to go try again, okay?"

When her father nodded, Kate hurried from the emergency area, where cell phone use was not allowed, and out into the main waiting area. As she walked, she pulled her phone from her back jeans pocket and began to pull up the contacts list. Just as she was about to look up to make sure she would not accidentally walk into someone, Kate found her arm colliding with a leather-jacket wearing man. He smiled down at her.

"We have to stop meeting like this."

Kate jumped back and gasped. "Oh god, it's you. I mean—hi. Hello."

His smile was easy as he slid his hands into his jacket pockets. "Hello." He echoed.

"You, um, what are you doing here?" Honestly, when the ambulance arrived Kate had been too concerned about her father's wellbeing to think about the handsome stranger who had saved him from certain injury. As she had been focused on what was happening behind the ER doors, she had not actually thought of him again, but now that he stood before her she was pleasantly surprised to see him.

"I finished talking to the cops and helped that kid—Jason, was it?—clean up the splintered wood from the sidewalk. Then I asked him what hospital you guys would have gone to; I wanted to see if your father was ok. How's he doing?"

"Um." Kate skimmed her finger over her brow, her hands trembling as she came down from her adrenaline fueled state. "Okay…ish. He, um, his shoulder was dislocated and his elbow is fractured. And, he—his head he…I'm sorry." She shook her head as the trembling overtook her and she began to feel rather lightheaded.

"It's okay. Here, sit down." The man took Kate's elbow very gently and led her towards the nearest empty chair. She plopped down on the green plastic seat at the end of a row of five and rested her forearms on her thighs, lowering her head to be cradled by her hands as she took a few deep breaths. The man crouched down beside her. "Can I get you anything? Water?"

Kate sniffed and shook her head. "No, I'm fine. I just need a second."

"Sure." The man didn't touch her, but he stayed crouched just a few inches away.

After sucking and pressing out a dozen breaths Kate began to regain her senses. She rubbed her fingers under her nose and turned her head to look at the man. Catching his eye, she felt a clench in her gut. "You…you saved my father's life."

"What? No, no—it was nothing."

Kate brushed off his attempt to minimalize the incident. "No, you did. You—I'm so sorry. I never… I'm Kate Beckett."

The man slipped his hand into hers. "Rick Rodgers."

Still holding the man's gaze, Kate shook his hand probably several seconds longer than she should have. She knew she should have taken her hand back, but an unspeakable force compelled her not to. It appeared he was under the same trance for he did not attempt to separate their hands either. Just as she was marveling at the warmth of his skin, they were interrupted by, "Katie?"

Kate jumped and whipped her head towards the noise. Her father was being wheeled out of the ER doors by the helpful nurse. "D-dad. Hi." Kate quickly stood and stepped around the crouching man.

"Did you get a hold of Theresa?"

"No, I…ah, sorry. Dad, this is Rick. He's the one that saved you from the car." Kate gestured to the leather jacket wearer, who now approached them with an uncertain expression.

"I am very sorry about your arm, sir."

Jim shook him off. "Don't be; you saved me from far worse."

Rick dipped his head with an appreciative expression. "Still. If there's anything I can do. Give you a ride back to Hinsdale, perhaps?"

Jim stood out of the wheelchair and gazed at the taller man curiously. "Are you from around here, son?"

Rick looked from father to daughter before answering. "Oh no. I was…ah, I was just passing through."

"Well, we'd love a ride back to Hinsdale and…if you're genuinely interested in helping we have a sales hut that needs rebuilt—and quickly."

"Of course—I'd be happy to help." The man smiled. "I'll just need to find a place to stay in town. Perhaps you could provide a recommendation?"

Jim bobbed his head. "Stay with us."

"Dad!" Kate said quickly, stepping up right beside her father. Guiding him away by tugging at the waist of his sweater, she hissed quietly to him, "I think your pain meds are talking."

"Nonsense, Katie; he'll stay with us."

Her eyes widened. Surely, her father was not serious; that was madness! Yes, Rick had saved her father and she was grateful for that, but he was a complete stranger! Letting someone they knew nothing about into their home was a downright awful idea. "We don't know anything about him, Dad," she said through gritted teeth, trying her best to keep her voice low.

Her father shrugged and then immediately winced at what the instinctual action did to the pain level in his shoulder. "He saved my life," was the only explanation Jim offered as he used his left hand to rub the tender joint.

Rick stepped up beside them. "Pardon me for eavesdropping, but I assure you, ma'am, I mean no harm. I can imagine how I might seem to you—a total stranger—so allow me to tell you a bit about myself. I'm from New York originally, but for the past six years I've been in the military. I'm retired now and I'm just trying to figure out what's next for me. Thought I'd travel around and see some of this great country of ours. That's how I ended up here, in New Hampshire."

Kate glanced towards her father, took note of his "I told you so" expression, and pressed her lips tightly together.

"If my staying in your home will be upsetting to you then-"

"No, please. I'm sorry." Though she was not one hundred percent convinced, Rick had provided enough evidence that she felt reasonably comfortable with him staying with them for the night. Besides, she knew she had no choice in the matter; her father had already made up his mind.

Rick smiled at her. "No need to apologize; I understand completely."

* * *

Kate sat in the front seat of Rick's black Jeep Cherokee during the half hour drive back to the Beckett residence so she could act as navigator. When they pulled in the drive, she attempted to help her father out of the car, though he brushed her away, promising that he was fine. He made his own way into the house while Kate waited for their new guest to collect two duffle bags from the back of his vehicle.

Once inside, Kate shed her coat and gave Rick a brief tour of their rustic, three bedroom ranch-style home showing him the living area, kitchen and finally the hall leading towards the sleeping quarters. "This is the guest bedroom. Bath's across the hall; I'll make sure there are towels for you."

Rick stepped inside the white-painted room with lemon yellow accidents on the curtains and bedspread before turning back and smiling at the helpful woman. "Thank you, Kate; I really appreciate this. And I promise to stay out of your hair as much as I can."

She shook him off. "It's fine, really. I guess…I guess I'll just order pizza for dinner. Any kind in particular you would like?"

"You don't have to pay for my food," he said quickly.

She smiled easily. "Rick, you saved my father's life; the least we can do is buy you some pizza."

He blinked slowly. "Any kind you get is fine."

"I'll let you know when it's here."

Once she was gone, Rick hefted both his duffels onto the bedspread and unzipped them, observing the contents. Well, he definitely had not packed as neatly as he should have; that was probably a poor decision, but what did he care if his shirts were a little rumpled? He wasn't in the army anymore.

Hearing the soft hum of conversation coming from down the hall, Rick gazed absentmindedly out the guest room door for several moments before turning back to his bags. He picked up the smaller one and turned it so the outside pocket faced him. Unzipping it, he dipped his fingers inside and pulled out a rectangular object: a greeting card folded in quarters.

The object had been folded and unfolded so many times, his hands flattening the creases in each occurrence, he was not sure how it hadn't completely torn, but it was still intact. Gently, he pulled at the corners until the object opened in his hand. His thumb traced over the gold scripted P at the top of the card and he hummed under his breath.

Okay, so he hadn't met Kate from Beckett's Trees in the way he thought he would, but he had found her and that was more than he expected when he began his journey north. Now he needed only to work up the courage to tell her what really brought him to New Hampshire.

* * *

 _A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews so far! This begins the "live posting" portion of this story so you will start to see the chapters on the days the story's events take place. There will only ever be 1 chapter a day so some of the days will get shifted a bit, but I think that will only happen twice._


	4. Chapter 3

_A/n: For those interested in watching the movie The Christmas Card, which I used as inspiration for this story, it is available on Netflix as well as on YouTube._

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

Early Sunday morning, Kate shuffled her way into the kitchen, stopped in front of the refrigerator and stared absentmindedly across the space for a moment before letting out a long exhale. She was up almost an hour earlier than she normally would have been on a Sunday (unlike the other days of the week, on Sundays the tree lot was only open in the afternoon), but that wasn't why she was out of sorts. Simply put: her whole routine was off.

Generally, Kate preferred a lazy Sunday morning of drinking coffee and eating breakfast in her pajamas. Then, if she felt so inclined, she would shower and get dressed to go about errands or other things she needed to do that day. Though, if she didn't feel like it—if, instead, she felt like sitting around and reading a book for an hour or so while still in her pajamas, that was what she did. Sadly, she did not have the luxury of such desires that Sunday.

With just her father in the house, Kate had no issue wandering around in loungewear, but with a houseguest she didn't feel comfortable. True, her flannel pajamas were far from skimpy or salacious, but it just didn't seem right, so she had gotten up early, showered and changed into jeans and a sweater. Even with the change in attire, which wasn't that big of a deal, Kate still didn't have the opportunity to lounge around; there was a sales hut to be rebuilt.

Kate busied herself making coffee and a large pot of oatmeal for breakfast. As she went about the kitchen, she took note of the supplies in their pantry and refrigerator. Or, rather, their lack of supplies; she would definitely need to get to a grocery store if they would need to feed an additional guest for a few days.

"Ah, good morning."

Kate turned to see Rick approaching with a soft smile, his hair damp from a recent shower. He wore a green sweater and jeans. Kate looked down at herself and chuckled. With the exception of the fact that he wore a belt and black socks while she had no belt and white socks, they were dressed identical. "Guess you got the memo this morning."

"Wha...oh yeah." He chuckled when he realized she referred to their matching outfits. Granted, her sweater was more of a sage color while his was emerald, they were close enough to be amusing.

"Coffee?"

"Please."

Kate passed him a mug and stepped back to allow him to pour his own cup. "I can get you sugar if you want, but all we have in the fridge is two percent milk; my father and I drink it black."

"I do, too; thanks."

She nodded. "Would you like some oatmeal? Or we have bread if you want toast. And eggs."

"Toast and eggs would be great. Do you have a skillet I can use?"

Kate nodded and retrieved their skillet from the drawer under the stove. She placed it atop a free burner and then retrieved the carton of eggs from the stove. She also directed Rick towards plates, utensils and the kitchen garbage can.

As he began to make his breakfast, Kate took a seat at the four-seater table in the center of the kitchen. "I hope you don't mind working on a Sunday, but Dad really wants to get the sales hut built back as quickly as possible."

Glancing back over his shoulder from his position at the stove, Rick shook his head. "It's no problem. I'm not very religious so Sunday's just another day of the week to me."

Kate bobbed her head as she dusted cinnamon atop the oatmeal she'd made for herself. "Great then we'll get started as soon as you're ready. You can follow me up to the workshop and we'll pick up some lumber there. Then-"

"Workshop?" He interrupted with a wrinkled brow.

"Beckett's Mill—the business my family owns."

His forehead creased a bit deeper. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you just owned the Christmas tree lot."

Kate shook her head. "That doesn't make near enough money to pay the bills."

Rick nodded, realizing his mistake. Of course a seasonal business such as that would not be sustainable as the sole income for a family. Not that he had given the Beckett family too much thought, but he had not really considered them having a profession outside Christmas trees. If they owned a mill it appeared their income did come from trees, just not exclusively the holiday kind. "Oh Right. Of course. Listen, I'm more than happy to help for as long as it takes, but I'm going to need some supplies—just toiletries and such. Is there…a general store around here?"

Her eyebrows rose slightly before she said, "There's a Walmart 'bout ten minutes down the road."

"Walmart? Really?"

An amused if not slightly perplexed expression crossed her face. "Where do you think you are Rick?"

As he dumped his finished eggs onto a plate, a soft blush crept into Rick's cheeks. "I, ah, I grew up in Manhattan so I'm not really used to this small town stuff."

Kate hummed into her coffee cup. So he was a city guy and not just any city either—New York. Well that certainly did explain him asking for a general store like he'd enter the Wild West during the eighteen hundreds. It also piqued her curiosity as to just how helpful he would be at rebuilding the hut. His intentions were genuine; that much was plain, but that didn't mean he would actually be handy. "Manhattan huh?"

"Yeah it's…very different than this," he concluded after a long pause.

She stood and carried her now empty oatmeal bowl to the sink. "I know; I went to school in Boston."

He turned and looked at her, intruded. "Boston? Really? Like, downtown Boston?"

"Northeastern."

He nodded, impressed. "Oh, that's great. What was your major?"

"Business with a concentration in accounting," she said before walking towards the room exit. "I'm going to get ready to go. Do you want to leave in about…fifteen minutes? Or do you need longer?"

"Fifteen is fine." He agreed before watching her walk away, more intrigued by her than ever.

* * *

After Kate provided brief verbal directions for Rick to follow, they both climbed into their respective vehicles (in addition to wearing the same outfit, that morning they were both driving Jeeps, though different models and colors) and began the fifteen minute drive to Beckett's Mill. For the most part, the drive was quite simple. Once they were out of the neighborhood in which Kate and her father resided, they turned onto a road taking them up into the wooded, mountainous area around Hinsdale where there was only one additional turn to make before the small white-painted sign for the mill came in to view. Once on the correct drive, the altitude only climbed before the mill campus came into view.

Down in Hinsdale, rain had washed away most of the laying snow. With the exception of some shaded areas, most places, including the streets, were void of white. At the mill, however, that was not the case. The altitude meant the rain from two nights prior had been more of a sleet mix leaving the rooftops of both the mill and its detached office building still covered in a layer of white.

Rick pulled his vehicle up beside Kates in the large, open gravel area between the buildings. He ducked his head to gaze out the windshield to observe the large, one-story building with large garage doors at the closest end. This, he guessed, was the production building for the mill. Though it still had a rustic feel to it, it clearly was the newer, more modern of the two buildings. The other structure was a squat log cabin with large rustic windows with an arched wooden front door and a roof that appeared to have been dusted in powdered sugar. Its setting against thick, snow-covered trees made it seem as though it had been ripped from a Thomas Kinkade painting. Or a Christmas card.

After taking another few moments to observe the cabin, Rick stepped out and shivered at the chill in the air. It was definitely colder than yesterday, though the altitude certainly contributed to that. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Rick stepped around in front of his vehicle and glanced over at Kate, waiting for instructions.

"Can your Jeep tow a trailer?"

"Uh…" Rick looked at the front of his car as though the answer would be printed there. It wasn't. "I don't know?"

Shaking her head, Kate walked around to the back of his vehicle and examined the lower bumper to search for a hitch; she found one. "It can. Have you ever driven with a trailer before? I'm going to guess no."

"Correct."

She nodded and walked back towards the mill building. "I'll give you the smaller one, then. Shouldn't be that hard to handle; it won't be heavy. Just go slow. Do you know how to get back to the tree lot from here?"

He shook his head. "No, but my GPS will-"

Kate interrupted his idea with a laugh. "Not up here it won't. I doubt you have reception."

Rick slipped his phone from his back pocket and discovered that, disappointingly, she was right. "Ah, sorry. I don't mean to be this pathetic and unhelpful."

Kate shook her head and promised, "You're volunteering to help us, Rick; I don't think you're pathetic or unhelpful. I'll show you the way back. Would you mind helping me with the trailers?"

"Not at all."

* * *

Well, the hut certainly was demolished, Kate observed upon pulling into the tree lot forty minutes after leaving the mill. The drive did not normally take quite that long, but she purposely went a few miles under the speed limit because she had encouraged Rick to go slow while driving with the unfamiliar trailer. She continually checked her rear view mirror to make sure he was doing all right, though he appeared to have made the journey just fine.

Parking her car in its usual spot behind the hut was difficult due to the pile of splintered wood. Though the hut was still standing—crooked, but standing—she doubted it would remain that way for much longer given just how much it was leaning without the corner that had been wiped out by the crash the day before. She wasn't sure if any of the sides were salvageable, but fortunately she did not have to make that call; her uncle was already on site.

"Rick, this is my uncle, Rob Arnold." Kate did the introductions once Rick had exited his vehicle.

The gray-haired man stood from where he crouched in observation of the hut and walked over to the newcomer with his hand extended. He was shorter than Rick by a few inches and wider by a few more. His hands were thick with calluses from a lifetime of working the mill, but his smile was as friendly as Rick had ever seen. "Ah, the hero returns. Pleasure to meet you. Rick, was it?"

"Rick Rodgers."

Rob shook the man's hand roughly before turning to his niece. "Theresa went to check on your father. My wife; Jim's sister," Rob added for the new man's benefit. "Said he was insisting he could do everything for himself."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Of course. So what's the damage here?" she asked, gesturing towards the structure before them.

Rob skimmed his hand across the light stubble on his chin. "Total loss I'm afraid. The way that car hit it twisted the structure and splintered all the wood at the corners. We can save the roof and the base, though." He paused and turned his attention towards the leather jacket-wearing man. "Katie says you've volunteered to help."

Rick nodded. "Absolutely. Just tell me where to go and what to do."

As the men began the task of carting the splintered wood and loading it into the trailer on Rick's vehicle, Kate returned to her Jeep and pulled a clear plastic twenty-gallon storage bin from the backseat. As she was not as skilled with a hammer as her uncle (not to mention the fact that three bodies in the tight sales hut area would be one too many) Kate had volunteered herself to sort through the ornaments and organize which had been damaged and could be repaired and which were unsalvageable.

The sales hut was a five foot square rectangular building with two solid walls, one with a person-sized door, and the final one with a hinged window about half the size of the door. That window could swing out and display the ornaments for sale and then swing back in when the tree lot was close to keep their merchandise secure. As the vehicle had hit the door side of the hut, Kate hoped not too many of her aunt's handmade ornaments were irreparably broken. Just how many could be fixed remained to be seen.

* * *

Ten years ago, if someone told Rick Rodgers he'd be doing manual labor and enjoying it, he would have thought they were insane. That was why he went to college—to avoid a career based solely around manual labor, but things happened; things changed.

Wearing the work gloves Rob had provided, Rick helped carry the splinted, red-painted wood to the trailer. Load after load he walked back and forth until the existing pile was cleared. Then, Rob provided a hammer and told him to quote "go to town" on the damaged front wall of the building; nothing could be salvaged from there.

Though the car's indentation made it seem as though the hut would come apart easily, the resistance Rick felt with every strike of the hammer begged to differ. Soon, his forearm and shoulder began to ache and his hand began to cramp up, but he didn't mind. He actually…liked it.

As he discovered during his time in the army, physical labor had its positive points. The more difficult or intricate the task was, the busier he was. The busier he was it kept his mind from wandering and, those days, Rick didn't want it to wander too much. He wanted to focus on one task and move onto the next and then the next. Plus, manual labor came with an added bonus: by the end of the day, he was always too tired to think about what ifs or what could have been. He was too tired to think about _her_.

"You doin' okay Rick?"

"Wha—oh." He looked up and smiled at the brunette woman carrying a large plastic bin of ornaments. "Yeah, I'm great. Do you need help with that?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine thanks. I'm going on a lunch run. Diner down the street has sandwiches, burgers…the usual."

"Well you know what I like, Katie." Rob chimed in, rubbing his belly.

"A nice green salad?"

"Katherine…"

"I know, I know—heart attack on a bun."

When she walked away to put the bin in her car, Rob turned to Rick and whispered, "Double cheeseburger with extra bacon."

Rick chuckled. "Nothing wrong with that." Then, when Kate returned and eyed him curiously he said, "Do they have a club sandwich? If it's not too much trouble."

"No trouble at all. I'll be back soon. Don't have too much fun without me!"

"So Rick," Rob began once Kate had driven off, "Kate told us you were in the military. Does that mean you make it a habit of saving people?"

"Ah no. This was certainly the exception to the rule."

Rob shook his head. "Sounds more like it was exceptional."

* * *

 _A/N: Posting chapters on back-to-back days is weird for me, but I guess you guys won't complain, will you? :)_


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

Monday, after pulling himself from bed and showering efficiently, Rick made his way to the kitchen to find both Becketts seated at the table. The prior day, Jim had been in too much discomfort to come out of his room until dinner, so Rick was glad to see the man appeared to be feeling better that morning. They exchanged pleasantries before they ate and set off for their respective destinations: Kate and her father to the tree lot and Rick to the mill.

By Sunday afternoon the hut had been safely demolished leaving only the base and roof, both of which were reusable. Rick and Kate returned their trailers full of scrap wood to the mill before separating so Rick could make his much needed trip to Walmart and Kate could stop at the grocery store before it closed at five-thirty. Back at the Beckett's home, they regrouped and strategized for the following day during which the bulk of the rebuilding would take place.

As per he was instructed, Rick drove to the mill Monday morning to pick up a trailer stacked with usable lumber. He was to meet Rob there so they could gather any other necessary supplies, plus one more person to help them, before they would meet at the tree lot and begin construction.

Arriving at the mill, Rick found it significantly busier than it had been the day before. A dozen cars were parked in front of the mill building which meant he had to squeeze his vehicle in beside the log cabin office. Unsure where Rob would be, Rick decided to try inside the office first.

Immediately upon stepping inside, Rick was met with an unexpected blast of hot air. In fact, he realized as he began to unzip his jacket, hot did not exactly qualify. The interior of the cabin was positively roasting. Pulling open the jacket to cool himself as much as possible, Rick quietly observed the cramped surroundings.

From the appearance of the exterior of the cabin, Rick was not at all surprised by the rustic, worn feel of the interior. He stood in a room which he presumed at one time was the main living area of the cabin. In it, four desks were crammed—two on each side—as well as various filing cabinets lining the back wall. A large photograph hung above the cabinets and, as he was alone in the room, Rick decided to take a closer look.

Standing just beside the cabinets Rick realized that the photo of a man, woman, and younger girl must have been of the Beckett family. Though she was probably only twelve or thirteen in the picture, Rick recognized Kate's smile and hazel eyes. Despite a darker hair color, Jim also looked largely familiar. Therefor Rick assumed the final person in the picture to be Kate's mother.

Rick knew from the Christmas card he received that Kate's mother had passed away, though he did not know how long it had been. Considering he received the card a year prior, it had at least been that long, though from the way the message was worded, he also suspected the loss of her mother was not fresh, so his best guess was that the older woman had been gone for around five years. However, given the fifteen-year-plus age of the picture adorning the wall, he suspected that time could have been significantly longer.

"Oh. Hello. Can I…oh, wait, are you Rick?"

Rick turned to see a woman he guessed to be around the age of his mother, perhaps a few years younger, entering though a nearby door. Her black hair was tied back in a knot at the base of her head. Her round face had a warm smile and many laugh lines. She also stood about a foot shorter than him. "Hi…"

"I'm Theresa," she said, extending her hand to him.

"Oh! Of course!" Rick chuckled and shook the hand of Jim's sister. "Pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine—believe me. We can't thank you enough for everything you've done. You're our very own Christmas angel!"

A blush crept into Rick's cheeks. "I don't know about that. I, ah, I was looking for Rob. I'm supposed to meet him."

"Yep he's here, but got caught up with some issue with one of the saws. Said he'd be a few. Can I offer you some coffee?"

"Sure; that'd be great."

Rick followed the elder woman back through the door she entered. This, he immediately discovered, was the kitchen of the log cabin and it held the source of the intense heat; a black wood-burning stove sat in the corner. As the temperature had climbed at least five degrees, Rick let his jacket slide from his shoulders as he continued to observe. "What's all this?" he asked, referring to a table along one wall overrun with piles of string, ribbon, yarn and other various decorations Rick had no hope of identifying.

"Oh." Theresa waved a hand flippantly as she handed Rick a mug of coffee. "That's the leftovers from ornament making; haven't had a chance to organize and put them away yet."

"Ornaments…" Rick spoke slowly, his brain trying to process the information. "You…you make all the ornaments?"

"I do."

Rick's expression brightened. "So…I've discovered Santa's workshop."

Theresa let out a chortle of laughter. "That's a good one! Thankfully, it's far less complicated than that."

"Well they are very impressive." He assured her before taking a step to his right and observing the craft table. He noticed that above it there was another Beckett family photograph. Given the clothing they wore, he suspected it was taken at the same time as the one in the other room only this one was just of Kate and the older woman. "Is…is this Kate's mother?" he asked Theresa tentatively.

She pressed her lips together and bobbed her head. "Johanna…hard to believe she's been gone all these years."

Though he already knew what she meant, he decided not to waste the opportunity to perhaps find out a bit more, so he turned back towards Kate's aunt with an innocently curious expression. "Gone?"

"Cancer." Theresa said simply.

Rick's shoulders dropped and his mouth formed a taunt line. Before he could offer condolences, the woman continued. "It was…difficult on all of us. They caught it late, you see, and it moved so fast. She died sixty-seven days after the first diagnosis."

"Oh god." Rick breathed in sharply. How horrible! Losing a loved one to cancer no matter their age was tragic, but so quickly had to have made the event practically unbearable. Particularly considering how young Johanna had been. Theresa hadn't specified when Johanna had died, but even if she had passed that year she still wouldn't have been old based on Kate's age and the age of her father.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. I know how hard it is to miss family around Christmastime."

Theresa patted his arm kindly. "Yes, it is, but we still need to remember the good times we had with them."

"Always." Rick nodded.

* * *

Rick had to admit he was astounded that he, Rob, and an additional man from the mill named Thomas were able to complete the sales hut in just one day. When Rob informed Rick they would be done by dinnertime, he was skeptical, but under Rob's direction and with no small amount of help from Thomas their task was completed just as the sun began to set. Rick had never felt more accomplished—or exhausted.

He returned to the Beckett's home and went directly into the shower, letting the warm water roll over his back and shoulders. Yep, they were definitely going to ache the following day. Them and every other muscle on his body. After toweling off, he joined the Becketts in the kitchen for the thank you dinner they had promised him.

"How's your shoulder feeling, Jim?" Rick asked as they sat down to the meal Kate had made them: chicken breasts with a side of roasted potatoes and carrots.

The injured man adjusted his position in his seat, being mindful of the arm still braced against his stomach. "It's…okay. Doesn't hurt as much as yesterday, though it still feels very stiff. And I'm getting sick of not being able to move it."

"But you can't." Kate reminded him. "Not until the doctor-"

"I know, Katie." He cut his daughter off with the slightest tone of annoyance towards her mother hen behavior. "I remember."

Before they began to eat, Jim proposed a toast in Rick's honor to thank him for all he'd done. Clearly embarrassed, Rick brushed them off, but also made sure to thank them for their hospitality.

"Why don't you tell us about your family, Rick?" Jim said as he began to eat, albeit awkwardly with just the one hand to use. "I'm assuming you're not married?"

Rick shook his head with a light chuckle. "No; I'm not married. My family's actually rather small—just my mother and myself."

"No siblings? Cousins?"

"Nope."

"And your mother…lives in New York?" Kate asked, recalling that Rick informed her he lived there previously.

"Kind of. I mean, yes she has an apartment there, but she's an actress and she's on the road a lot. Like, right now she's in a traveling holiday production and she won't be finished until after the first of the year."

"Your mother won't be home on Christmas?" Kate asked him, her tone notably sad.

Realizing she was probably extra sensitive to such matters as her own mother had passed, Rick offered her a reassuring smile. "It's no big deal; we've already planned to have a Christmas of our own on January third when she's back in the city."

Jim set down his fork and took a sip of water. "Well, in light of that information, I'm curious as to how you'll feel about my proposal."

Rick also stopped eating as he gazed across the table at the older man.

"I was planning on asking you tonight anyway but…well, I was hoping that you might not mind staying a few extra days. Or, actually, until Christmas."

"Dad." Kate jumped in, gazing quickly at her father. "Rick has done more than enough-"

"No, I don't mind at all." In truth, he had no real plans for the two and a half weeks leading up to the holiday. He could have gone back to Manhattan, looked up some old friends and seen if they wanted to spend time with him. Or he could have continued his journey up the east coast, but staying with the Becketts seemed just as good of an idea as any, particularly if they needed his help.

"Please don't feel obligated to stay until Christmas if you make other plans. We'll just be happy with any extra assistance you can offer. I'd love to say that I'll be back to running the tree stand in a few days, but even if I can man the cash register I'm definitely not carrying or loading another Christmas tree this season."

Rick could see the distraught look on the man's face and felt even more completed to help. "Jim, honestly; it's no trouble at all. I'd be more than happy to help with the trees or at the mill—whoever you need me. Though, I must warn you, I don't know how high my skill level will be…."

Jim eyed him skeptically. "I don't know, Rick; that sales hut looks pretty good."

Rick let out a breathy chuckle. "That was all Rob. I mostly handed them tools. And, well, the painting; I did the painting."

"As long as you can carry a Christmas tree, you'll do just fine Rick. Thank you."

He shook his head, indicating it was no problem. "Just one thing—if you could give me the name of a hotel in town; I don't want to impose on your hospitality any longer."

"Who says you're imposing?" Jim smiled.

"Well…" True, neither Beckett had outright said it, but he certainly did not want to just assume they would continue to allow him to stay there.

"I think room and board will be enough of an exchange for you helping with the tree stand and possibly at the mill. What do you say, Rick?"

Rick glanced from the elder Beckett to his daughter whose expression was a bit more unreadable. He saw curiosity and perhaps a little bit of nerves, but she gave him a subtle nod when their eyes met and that was enough for him. "Absolutely; I'd love to stay and help."

* * *

 _A/N: you guys have been too spoiled - 3 chapters in 3 days! I'm not telling you when the next chapter will come, but it WILL NOT be tomorrow :)_


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

By Thursday, Rick found himself fully entrenched in the world of Christmas tree sales which was surprisingly more complicated than he originally anticipated. In truth, prior to that week he had not given too much thought to selling trees. Growing up, his mother used a fake Christmas tree, as she was generally too busy over the holiday season to be bothered with the upkeep and cleanup that accompanied a real tree. Rick didn't mind this; he never even thought about getting a real tree—until working with the Becketts.

Jim Beckett _loved_ real Christmas trees. He went so far as to say that Christmas just wasn't Christmas without a real tree. He clearly loved what he did and was frustrated he could not fully participate in his business though was grateful to the newcomer for his ever-willingness to assist. By the end of their second day on the lot, Jim and Rick had fallen into a comfortable pattern. When a customer would arrive with questions about the tree, Jim would field all of them and provide his well-perfected sales pitch. On the other hand, Rick, who could not have discerned the difference between a fir and a spruce if his life depended on it, was happy to help wrap up the tree and load it on to the customer's vehicle.

That night at dinner it was determined that they would need more of the Noble firs for the weekend rush. Jim pointed out that the second weekend in December was always the busiest for tree sales. Thus, it was imperative that their lot was stacked to the brim with any tree a customer could possibly want. That year, the Nobles seemed to be the most popular, which Jim attributed to it being a particularly good crop.

During the discussion, Kate volunteered to retrieve the trees the following morning before opening the stand, but stated that she would need someone to help her—someone without an immobilized arm. She was about to request someone from the mill when Jim jumped in and volunteered Rick, who happily agreed to assist.

Thus, the following morning, Rick found himself a passenger in Kate's Jeep Wrangler as they drove the familiar path to Beckett's Mill. As the first half of their journey was made in silence save a morning talk radio show which produced almost as much static as talking, Rick was able to reflect on his prior six days with the Beckett family.

In general, Rick had no complaints about the time he spent with the Beckett family; they were quite an enjoyable bunch. He and Jim had built up quite a rapport during their time at the tree lot together. Rick appreciated how down-to-earth the man was. Though his injury was frustrating, he had a positive attitude about it and happily chatted with every customer about it when they asked. (Despite Rick insisting he didn't have to, Jim continually sang his praises during each recount of the harrowing tale.)

Within just half a day it became clear to Rick that many of Beckett's Tree's patrons were repeat customers. They had clearly known the Beckett family for years and enjoyed getting their tree just as much as catching up with the patriarch on the prior year's events. An experience such as that was one Rick had never seen in Manhattan, and it certainly was refreshing.

Kate, on the other hand, was harder to read. She was certainly more standoffish than her father, but he could not classify her as unfriendly. She said good morning to him and chatted pleasantly as they ate their breakfast. She always answered any questions he had with kindness; yet, she never went out of the way to talk to him. The Beckett home was not overly large in size and thus they ran into each other frequently. There was only one main sitting area and Rick couldn't help but observe that when he was sitting there Kate often disappeared into her bedroom.

In a way, he understood. They had not yet known each other a week. He hardly expected her to spill her deepest darkest secrets. It may have even been different if he was simply employed at the tree stand and they could get to know each other more gradually, but with him living in the Beckett home for the time being…well, he was concerned he was making things awkward for her and that was the last thing he wanted. Though he wasn't exactly sure how to bring it up, he knew there would be no better time than when they were alone in a car.

Just as Kate turned off the main road onto the driveway with the Beckett's Mill sign, Rick began, "Listen, Kate, I really hope my staying in the guest room isn't making things awkward for you or your father."

Her eyes briefly flicked in his direction. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, I'm still more or less a stranger, we've only known each other a few days and I kind of get the feeling my presence isn't exactly making everyone comfortable—you especially. If that's the case-"

"Oh no, Rick. If that's the impression you got I'm sorry—truly. I don't mind you staying with us." She sighed as she pulled the vehicle to a stop in front of the mill's office. She put the car in park but did not turn off the engine. Looking over at him, she said, "It's just the past few days have been hard with my dad's injury and trying to work out how we're going to handle things at the mill and tree stand without him. I never meant to make you feel uncomfortable and if I did I apologize."

He shook his head, relieved that his presence did not appear to be the cause of any negative feelings. "No apology necessary and I completely understand your distraction over the prior few days. This must be incredibly stressful for your family. But please if my staying with you ever becomes a problem-"

"It won't."

"But if it does, let me know. And let me know if there's anything else I can do to help pick up the slack."

She offered him a small smile. "You're doing more than enough."

With that, Kate cut the engine to her vehicle and hopped out. She jogged into the office and returned a moment later with a new set of keys. She led the way to the back side of the mill building—a place Rick had not yet been—and opened a large garage door to reveal a sizable red truck with an empty flatbed caged with wooden slats on three sides.

Kate instructed Rick to get inside as she climbed into the passenger seat. When the diesel engine roared to life and she put the truck in gear, Rick was impressed; this woman was certainly a far cry from a Manhattan socialite. It was…oddly attractive.

"How far are the Christmas trees from here?" he asked as they began back the driveway leading to the main road.

"Not very."

Halfway back to the main road, Kate turned off onto a snow covered path Rick hadn't even noticed. The drive was narrowly cut between brush and trees that had already lost their leaves for winter. They drove for about a half mile before pulling into a clearing where rows and rows of pristine evergreens could be seen. Rick smiled to himself; so this was the farm part of the Christmas tree farm.

When Rick stepped out of the car, he winced from the wind whipping through the clearing. Zipping up his coat a little more, he'd never been more thankful for the decision to buy more appropriate winter gear two days prior; his leather jacket would have been practically useless in weather like this. Now, in his extra-long, negative forty degree rated coat, only his face was freezing; better than nothing.

"So basically," Kate began as she pulled an axe and saw from the bed of the truck as well as two spools of heavy duty twine, "we bind up the branches so they don't get broken in transport. Cut the tree off at the base, and then load them very neatly into the truck."

Rick nodded and picked up a second saw. "You make it sound really easy. Why do I get the feeling it's anything but?"

She offered a soft smile. "It's not that complicated. The hardest part is binding up the branches correctly, but don't worry—I'll show you how."

He made a sweeping gesture towards the first row of trees. "Lead the way."

She pursed her lips in amusement. "Those are the Fraser firs; the Noble are in the back."

He chuckled. "Sorry…maybe by Christmas I'll be able to tell them apart."

Kate led the way towards the rows of Noble firs. Rick could indeed see they looked different than the first set, though he doubted he'd remember the differences in a few hours let alone days. As the wind made hearing difficult, they plodded through the snow in silence. Twice Kate stumbled into a tree. Rick asked if she was all right, but she insisted she was fine.

When they came to the first row of Nobles, Kate began to show Rick how to bind the branches starting at the top of the tree and working down. Though he tried to make notes of what she was doing, he could not help but wonder if there was a better way. It seemed…sloppy and she kept hitting herself in the face with the branches. Then, when she went to cut off some of the twine, she cut into her gloves instead.

Twisting his lips to the side, Rick gazed down at her. "Kate, are you sure you're okay?"

She dropped her arms to her sides and looked over at him. "Yes. No. I don't know. I guess today just isn't a good day."

Giving her a reassuring look he held out a hand for the ball of twine. "Why don't you let me try tying up the next one?"

"No I'm fine. I'm just distracted…and I really miss my mom. Oh god sorry." Her eyes widened and she took a step back as though horrified by the sound of her own voice. "I…I don't even know why I said that."

Her confession didn't faze Rick in the least. "No need to apologize, Kate." As he watched her staring down at the twine in her hands winding the stray ends tighter and tighter, he couldn't help but think perhaps talking about it would make her feel better. Tentatively, he asked, "She passed away, right? May I ask how long ago?"

Still gazing at the twine she said, "Ten years."

"I'm sorry. I understand. You should never feel bad about missing someone no matter how long they're gone." After a brief pause to clear his throat, he decided to off up the reason why he more than understood her feelings. "My…my daughter died and I still miss her, think about her."

Kate's gaze turned to one of shock as she looked up at the man before her. She never would have expected such a statement from him. Then again, other than the few little tidbits he'd revealed, she really did not know all that much about him. "You had a daughter?"

"And a wife. We were already on the brink of divorce when it happened, but after Alexis was gone we didn't have a reason to stay together."

Kate shook her head as she took in the information. How horrible for him! Not only had he lost his child—a pain she could not even begin to conceptualize—but his wife as well; his entire family. Suddenly, she felt rather silly for even bringing up her feelings on her mother. "I'm sorry to hear that. How old was your daughter when she died?"

"Three and a half."

"Oh god." Kate brought her hands to her chest as she looked at him. He was strong, calm, speaking of the incident as though it was as simple as the weather report. Kate was impressed; she still could barely discuss her mother's death and it had been a decade. She turned back to the tree in front of her and double-checked the binding on the branches to make sure they were secure enough for the tree to be cut.

What, she wondered, could have caused the death of someone so young and innocent? Due to her own experience, cancer immediately jumped to her mind but from the way he spoke, her gut interpreted the child's death was sudden so perhaps a car accident? Though she was curious, she didn't want to pry in case it made him uncomfortable, so she merely crouched down and showed him where to saw the tree off at its base.

Rick quickly found that sawing the tree was not as easy as he anticipated and he had to kneel down on the ground for better leverage. Fortunately, the base was not too thick, and Kate was able to lay the tree down gently so none of the branches were damaged. Gazing over at her, he dropped the saw down to the ground and adjusted his gloves. "It was, uh, the terrorist attacks in San Francisco."

Kate practically did a double take. "Your daughter was killed there?" When he bobbed his head in confirmation, Kate's stomach flipped in her gut. Oh how dreadful! The attacks had taken place seven years prior over Labor Day weekend. Three backpack bombs were set off simultaneously in the city. If she recalled correctly several dozen had been killed, many others injured.

"Yeah. Meredith—that's my ex—was an actress. She did off-off-off Broadway plays. Honestly, she wasn't very good but I supported her because that's what you do when you're married." He offered her a half smile. "Anyway, a director she worked with in the past was putting on a play in San Francisco and wanted Meredith to come audition. She insisted on taking Alexis since the trip was going to be quick—barely forty eight hours. They were walking around the city when the bombs went off."

Kate nodded, taking in the information. "Was Meredith hurt?"

"Not really. Alexis was prone to running off and Meredith probably wasn't being as careful as she should have been in a big crowd like that. She was actually about half a block away from Alexis when the bombs detonated; she only had a few scratches. Interestingly, she never felt as guilty about it as I would have liked," he added with a rather bitter smile.

Her heart aching for him, Kate walked over and placed a gloved hand on his forearm. "Rick, I am so sorry."

He nodded in appreciation. "It's okay. It's been… seven years. Though, ah, as I'm sure you understand, sometimes it's very hard to believe it has been that long."

Kate nodded as she felt the same about her mother. She gathered up the twine and moved to the next fir as her brain continued to process Rick's confession. The attacks had taken place seven years prior and Rick informed them that he retired from the military after six years. Judging from his looks alone, Kate guessed him to be her age, possibly slightly older, which left her only one conclusion. "Is that…Is that why you joined the military?"

He nodded instantly recalling the many hours of thought he'd put in to that career decision, but ultimately he felt too compelled not to. "Had to do something. It was good, kept me busy. Like this," he said, gesturing with the saw. "Keeps me busy. Stops me from thinking about her."

Kate unrolled some twine and turned back to the evergreen, though she knew exactly what Rick referred to. Despite all the gripes she had about it, one positive of the tree lot was how busy it kept her over the holiday season. The busier she was, the less time she had to think about and miss her mother, especially at Christmas.

After she finished binding the tree, Rick cut it down, having much more success on his second attempt, and then they completed three more in a similar pattern. Her curiosity getting the better of her, she asked, "What did you do before you joined the military? If I can ask…" Her best guess was that he joined the military in his mid-twenties, which meant he had to have done something for income before that time.

"Oh. I was a writer," he said with utmost casualty.

The news hit Kate like a blast of frozen air and she dropped her roll of twine. "Oh! Oh! That's why you look familiar! You're Richard Castle, aren't you?" Of course! The prior few days she'd been convinced his face seemed familiar but she couldn't place it; she thought her brain was making it up, but her mind had finally put the puzzle pieces together.

Richard Castle. Well, there was a name he hadn't heard in some time. Standing from where he crouched beside a fallen tree, he asked, "You've read my books?"

A delighted smile crossed her face and Rick's heart did a summersault in his chest. "All of them!"

He laughed. "You're kidding?"

"No, no they were great!"

Feeling his cheeks turning pink from something other than the howling wind he said, "Oh well…thank you."

Kate shook her head and walked around the tree she was tying up. "Gosh I always wondered what happened to you. I—oh god, I mean that sounds so selfish." She quickly backtracked when she saw a perplexed look cross his face.

"Kate, it's fine. Honestly I'm flattered." Flattered, but not in the mood for a full scale fan encounter. He knew Kate meant well, and if her knowledge of his prior career helped her feel more comfortable around him, he was glad for it, but writing wasn't something he did anymore. At least, not professionally. "So…how do we get all these into the truck bed?"

Hours later, the tip of her nose chilled almost to the point of no recovery, Kate returned to the comforting warmth of her bedroom. She had been intent on gathering sweats to change into after a delightfully warm shower, but on her way to the closet Kate paused. Snagging her bottom lip with her teeth she walked over to the overstuffed bookshelf in her room and scanned the titles before grabbing the one she was intent on.

Kate pulled _In a Hail of Bullets_ from the shelf and skimmed her fingers over the dustjacket. Flipping the book over, she found the tiny square picture of its author. There he was: Richard Castle—er, Rick Rodgers? Castle must have been his pen name, she decided. Looking at the image again she realized why she didn't recognize him. In addition to being nearly ten years older, the Rick staying with them at present had significantly shorter hair than the one in the picture, which really changed his appearance. Still, it was rather amazing that he was there—in her house.

Kate moved the book to her nightstand. Perhaps she would show it to him later that evening and they could—no. Was that silly? He didn't seem overly keen on discussing his past as a writer so maybe it was best she didn't want to bring it up lest she become the one making him uncomfortable. Deciding against the plan, Kate returned the book to its prior resting place, and walked over to the closet.

Richard Castle—who would have thought!

* * *

 _A/N: 2 quick things - First, I don't want to confuse any non-Americans. I made up the San Francisco terrorist attacks for the purpose of this story; thankfully nothing like that ever actually happened. Second, it has been brought to my attention that perhaps I used the wrong terminology when talking about Rick's time in the military. It seems "discharged" may have been a better word to use over "retired." I apologize for this error._

 _Also, I have my posting days planned out...you guys are going to get a chapter a day for a week over Christmas. Aren't you lucky :)_


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

Saturday morning Rick awoke to a dull light beginning to filter into his bedroom. Glancing at the nightstand clock, he saw it was just before seven thirty in the morning. Grumbling to himself, he rolled onto his side and tucked his head back against the pillow. If he had been in his own apartment, he knew that would have been one of those morning he didn't get out of bed until ten or later. His back ached from lifting Christmas trees in then out of a flatbed truck. His forearms and shoulders hurt from sawing them down and he was just…tired. Sadly, as he was a guest in the Beckett home, he did not have the luxury of being a sloth.

Feeling slightly better after a warm shower, Rick walked out into the main sitting area and froze at the very edge of the hall. A Christmas tree had been erected in the corner of the sitting room at some point in the twelve hours since he'd last been in that room. The tree wasn't the most beautiful Rick had seen. If anything it was a little…sad. More than a little sad. Charlie Brown-esque, even.

Just as he was about to take a step into the room, Rick remained frozen when a figure entered from the kitchen. She wore grey sweatpants with a drawstring waist and a bright red hooded sweatshirt bearing the Northeastern logo, her hair tucked up in a messy half-bun. She carried with her a cardboard box which she set down on the floor in front of the tree. Rick took note that two other boxes sat beside the couch. She opened one of them and pulled out a sizeable red ribbon. She held it up to one of the more obvious bald spots on the tree and stepped back, gazing at it with her arm fully extended. She tiled her head left and right before bending down and pulling a second red bow from the box and holding it up beside the first.

"You're going to need a few more to cover that—sorry," he added hastily when she visibly jumped. "Didn't mean to startle you."

She shook her head. "No it's okay; I didn't realize anyone else was up. There's coffee in the kitchen."

Rick nodded and walked into the adjoining room to pour himself a cup. The prior evening at dinner, he was informed that they did not need to report to the tree lot that day. Evidently, Kate and her father alternated Saturdays with her aunt and uncle and this was the Saturday they were "off." Jim told Rick that meant he had the day free of any tree-related responsibilities. Rick hadn't made plans for that day as of yet; thus, he had no problem watching—or perhaps even helping—Kate decorate.

"So what's with the sad tree?" he asked as he walked back into the sitting room with a mug of steaming java.

She gazed up at him from her position organizing silver and gold ornaments on the floor. "Dad always brought us home the saddest tree on the lot—made a big deal out of it saying he rescued it from spending the holiday season lonely or in the trash, but I only believed that until I was about eight. After that I knew it was because he didn't think he could sell it and didn't want to take a nice one for our house that he could sell."

Rick laughed as he sat down on the couch. "Nothing like ruining the rose-colored glasses version of a holiday."

She hummed in agreement before moving the now empty box aside. She then turned to one of the other boxes and pulled out several strands of tree lights bound in neat ovals. Glancing back at him she asked, "You wanna help?"

"Oh, sure." He set his coffee mug down on a coaster and stepped around the coffee table so he was just behind her. "I didn't want to intrude on your family traditions."

"It's fine, Rick. I don't think we have that many, to be honest. Just all of us kind of congregating around the tree lot. Oh, and we usually spend all of Christmas day in our pjs, but I don't know if that's a tradition."

His face brightened. "Of course—and it's the best one ever!"

She chuckled and handed him one of the strands of lights. They both took positions around the tree and began to lay the lights over the branches which, at times, became difficult given the gaping holes. "How about you? What Christmas traditions did you have growing up?"

"Getting plastered on egg nog, climbing up on the piano and singing very off-key Christmas carols—oh, wait that was just my mother." He stopped stringing lights to flash her a grin. "I guess…I guess we didn't have that many. I was really looking forward to starting some but Alexis wasn't quite there yet, you know? I don't know how many little kids you've been around…"

"Not many."

"Right well at three they kind of get that something is happening, but not enough to fully understand the concept of Santa and reindeer and all that stuff. All she knew was that guy at the mall in the red suit and white beard smelled funny and scared the hell out of her."

Kate let out a bark of laughter. "So you didn't get one of those cute pictures where the kid is smiling and so is Santa?"

Rick groaned at the memory. "Ugh, no. I think she screamed less the time she fell down and needed two stitches in her lip; it was awful." Sighing he turned back to stringing the lights. It had been over seven years earlier, but he remembered the day well.

The Manhattan shop had been packed—of course. What else happened to shops in the city on a Saturday afternoon? Alexis had done surprisingly well in the line. She was a bit restless, but they had played a game he invented about making up elaborated, fantastical stories about all the people they saw while waiting, which kept her mind busy. It wasn't until he held her hand and walked her towards the strange, bearded man that she began to melt down. He wanted to throw in the towel, but Meredith insisted; they'd waited in line for over an hour and they were getting the picture.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to bring up bad memories for you."

Rick turned to her and saw an uncertain expression on her face. He bent down and plugged in the string of lights he'd finished looping over the branches and took a step towards her. "No, no, quite the opposite in fact. I spent a lot of years trying not to think about Alexis, but that didn't make me happy; it only made it worse. Now I like to think of her. It's still sad, but that doesn't negate the great times we had together."

Though Kate offered a nod, a pang of jealousy shot through her chest. Rick had the attitude she wished she could. Years earlier, she thought the same thing: thinking about her mother hurt then, but the wound was still fresh. Eventually, she would be able to think about the happy times she had with her mother without feeling sick. Unfortunately, she still felt as though she was waiting for "eventually" to arrive. Even then, remembering childhood Christmases with her mother made her gut churn uncomfortably.

Shaking her head, Kate turned towards the box of silver ornaments. She needed a distraction. "What was she like?"

Rick picked up the red ornaments and said, "Alexis was…a firecracker. Literally. She had this orange red hair that her mother never wanted to cut so it was long and thick and beautiful. You could see her coming so far away because she was just this brilliant ball of orange."

They worked together alternating silver and red on the tree as Rick continued to chat about his little girl. "She was very precocious. She wasn't even four, but I swear some days she was the adult in the house. She had no problem telling me exactly what she wanted or exactly what she thought I was doing wrong. She loved to read, which I'm sure she got from me. We read all the time. Being a writer I was basically a stay at home dad."

"She sounds wonderful."

He nodded. "She was. And I miss her every day."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, once all the globe-shaped ornaments were adorning the tree, Kate and Rick took a step back to observe it from afar. Kate stepped in, rearranged a few hanging objects, and then stepped back once more to reassess. She repeated this process twice more before pulling out the final box of ornaments.

Rick found this box to be the most interesting. Unlike the colored balls, it was clear this box was handmade. He spotted a few wooden ones that looked very familiar to those for sale at the tree stand, but others were made of felt or cloth; each of them unique.

Noticing he was doing more observing than hanging, Kate explained, "My mom made these ornaments. Well, she and aunt."

"Really? Your mother made ornaments too?"

Kate bobbed her head. "Yeah, um…it's how she met my dad, kinda. You know my aunt makes most of those wooden ornaments we sell? Well she met my mom at this craft fair thing in Brattleboro."

"Really?"

"Yeah. According to them, they hit it off because they were the only two people under fifty there."

Rick let out a breathy chuckle. "That I believe."

"So she and my mom became pen pals. My mom lived north of Brattleboro and my aunt lived here. And, as I'm sure you know, back when our parents were younger there was no internet."

He gave her a pointed look. "Oh I'm well aware. I'm pretty sure my mother still thinks smart phones are something out of Star Trek."

Kate laughed knowing that at one point her father had referred to his cell phone as a 'contraption.' "Right. Anyway this went on for a few months until Theresa invited my mom to come visit for a long weekend. She met my dad and…that was it, apparently."

Rick nodded and selected another wooden ornament from the box. As a writer, he loved origin stories and this one had not disappointed in the least. "Love at first sight?"

She snagged her bottom lip between her teeth. "Uh no. He fell in love with her, maybe, but she thought he was—quote—dorky."

"Nice!"

"Plus, she was a college girl and my dad was a guy with a high school education who worked in a mill."

Ah, Rick thought, even better. "So it was one of those."

"Yep."

"How'd they get together?"

"Well my mom was still friends with Theresa and I guess somehow it all worked out. Truthfully, I don't know the details and I'm not sure if I want to," she added with a scrunched nose.

He bobbed his head. "That's a totally fair point."

"Do you know how your parents got together?"

"Actually, I've never met my father."

Kate froze, her arms lifted to hang an ornament, thought it merely dangled from her index finger and thumb. "You…really?"

"Nope. My mother describes it as one night of love and passion and, as I'm sure you can appreciate, that's the most I ever want to know about it." He suppressed the urge to shiver at the memory of his mother's love-struck expression whenever she spoke of the night he was conceived.

Kate hummed under her breath. "Wow, I can't imagine growing up without both my parents."

Rick shrugged. "I never really noticed it, to be honest. I-" He paused when he pulled a peculiar looking item from the box. He presumed it to be a white snowflake from the general shape, but it was odd. The item appeared to be knitted or crocheted but the branches of the snowflake were interwoven in an intricate manner; he'd never seen anything like it before. "This is…interesting. Did your mother make it?"

Kate picked up the item from his palm and held it gently between her fingers. "Mmhm. She was very good at crocheting."

"Clearly."

"I kind of wished I'd learned. She tried to teach me once when I was sixteen. I, ah, threw the needle across the room." She added with a wry smile. Rick laughed and turned back to the nearly empty box of decorations.

Looking down at the ornament in her palm, Kate dusted her thumb over the edges. For the first time in a very long time, looking at it didn't make her sad. An ache still pulsed in her gut, but it was muted and easier to ignore than it ever had been. Gazing over at him she watched as he hooked one of her aunt's ornaments over a branch. It fell off and he fumbled to catch it before it fell. He was successful hand hung it back on a different branch, which mad her smile. "I ah…I don't usually talk about her; I guess you can understand that."

"Of course." When he looked at her, his heart fluttered in his chest. It was time. He had to tell her. He had to tell her that she—well, her Christmas card—had been the one that aided her in being able to talk about Alexis freely without feeling angry or immeasurable pain. "Actually I-"

"Katie." The voice of the elder Beckett interrupted Rick's confession and he flicked his eyes towards the man standing in the hallway. For the first time in a week he was not wearing his shoulder sling, only his elbow brace. He stepped into the room, his eyes brimming with no small amount of amazement. "You decorated the tree?"

"Oh yeah. Rick helped," she added, flashing her partner a smile.

Rick hung the last ornament on the tree before stepping around the couch and scooping up his coffee mug. He sensed the father-daughter duo might need a moment alone and decided to escape to the kitchen.

Jim stepped up beside the tree and observed with a smile. "Wow…I…when was the last time you did that? It must be years…"

Kate shrugged. He wasn't wrong; it had been man years since she decorated the tree and even then it was only after he'd used guilt to coerce her into assisting. She hadn't willingly decorated the tree since her mother passed—until that morning. She woke up, walked into the living room and felt an inexplicable wave of Christmas cheer. "Well, I know you like the tree. Plus I just…I don't know; I felt like doing it this year."

Jim pressed a kiss onto his daughter's cheek. "I'm very glad."

* * *

 _A/N: When will you see the next chapter? Nobody knows! (Except me - I know :) )_

 _Thanks for all your reviews & follows - I'm so glad everyone is enjoying this story!_


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

Tuesday evening, Rick arrived back at the Beckett residence later than he anticipated. For the first time Jim had entrusted him with closing up the lot at the end of the night and Rick wanted to be certain he'd done everything correctly. He'd spent over half an hour organizing the rows of trees, spent an additional twenty minutes counting the cash box twice, and checked multiple times to make sure all gates were locked and secure before departing.

Rick went to pull into the driveway, but found his usual spot to the left of the garage was taken by a silver Mercedes. Interesting. Both Kate and her father drove Jeeps, Rob a white Ford pickup and his wife a Subaru, so the Mercedes meant the Becketts had a visitor Rick probably hadn't met yet. Shrugging to himself, he parked his car in front of the house.

Entering through the front door, Rick found himself nearly face to face with a man entering the sitting room from the hall. He was a few inches taller with a strong jaw and blonde hair. He wore dark denim jeans, a Polo sweater and an expensive silver watch. Thus, Rick deduced this man to be the driver of the Mercedes. "Hello…"

"Oh good you're back."

Rick turned his head to the left to see Kate standing from the couch and approaching the two men standing in the foyer.

"So you're the infamous Rick; I've heard a lot about you," the tall man said.

Rick nodded, his eyes drifting between the man and Kate. "And…you are?"

Kate stopped just beside them. "Rick this is my boyfriend Josh Davidson."

" _Doctor_ Josh Davidson." The man corrected as he extended his hand to Rick.

For half a second, Rick stood frozen. Boyfriend. She had a boyfriend!? Since when? To his knowledge there had been no mention of Kate having a significant other. He cleared his throat and extended his hand. "It's, ah, nice to meet you. Doctor, you said?"

"Surgeon, actually. I do a lot with doctors without borders, but when I'm home I work at a hospital in Boston."

Well, wasn't that…interesting. Rick's brain had difficulty processing this information because it was stuck on the fact that Kate had a boyfriend. How hadn't he known that Kate had a boyfriend?! _Because you've known her for ten days_ , his brain replied. It was, of course, completely logical that he had not learned everything about her in this time. Still, they had spent a great deal of time together and eaten dinner together for eight of those days. Yet, no boyfriend had been mentioned.

It made sense, though. She was beautiful and kind. Why wouldn't she have a boyfriend? A boyfriend who was a doctor. Not just any doctor—no. Doctors without borders. A hero. Of course.

"How'd you two meet?"

"A few years ago, back when I was finishing my degree in the city," Kate explained.

Thankfully, a minute later Jim walked into the room and broke up their slightly awkward interaction. "Rick, how was it tonight?"

Shrugging off his coat, Rick nodded to the man. "Good, good. We're running low on the Fraser so I was thinking about getting up early tomorrow and cutting some more." He paused for a second before looking at the doctor. "Maybe Josh would like to help."

The man cringed dramatically. "Ohh love to, but can't. These hands save lives," he said, holding them up as if they were priceless artifacts.

Rick fought the urge to roll his eyes with every ounce of his being. _Great; he's a giant douche, too_. "Sorry I asked," he muttered under his breath.

"I'll help you," Kate offered brightly.

He bobbed his head. "Thanks Kate."

* * *

The following morning it was Rick who had trouble focusing on their walk through the rows and rows of Christmas trees. In truth, he'd barely slept the night before, though his restlessness mostly came from a place of self-loathing. He was upset that Kate had a boyfriend; he was upset that no one had told him about Kate's boyfriend. Logically, he knew that as a new comer, neither Kate nor her father had done anything wrong by not telling him. They weren't intentionally misleading him or harboring something from him that actively affected his safety.

Really, the whole situation was silly. Had he begun to develop a small crush on the beautiful woman he worked with and—if he was going to be technical about it—lived with? Sure. But that was _his_ problem. Really, it made sense. The message in her card had touched him, helped him. At the time he read it, he had no idea if the "Kate" who signed the card was nineteen, fifty-five or anywhere in between. When it turned out she was an attractive woman around his own age of course he'd developed feelings for her.

He'd spent six years in the army surrounded almost exclusively with burly men. Even without the card he probably would have found himself developing feelings for any woman that treated him halfway decently after such a dry spell. But that was his issue. He needed to rein it in so that it did not affect the remainder of his time helping the Beckett family.

Deciding the best way to snuff out his crush would be to learn more about Kate's relationship with the mysterious doctor Rick broached the subject as they were tying up the branches on the first tree. "So Josh seems like a great guy."

Her eyes flicked in his direction. "Oh, yeah. He's not around a whole lot, but it's always nice when I see him. And he should be around for Christmas this year, which is great; he hasn't been since the first year we were together."

"And when was that?"

"Four years ago, but it's not like we've been together all that time. It was a bit of an off-and-on thing at first. And then, we were together, but he wasn't here physically. He'd spend six months in Africa, come back for a few weeks, go to Haiti for another few months…"

Rick dropped his ball of twine into the snow and gazed at her. What she was describing to him sounded very familiar as it occurred with every single married colleague he came across in the army. He saw how difficult that was on his friends, how much of a strain it put on them, and also strongly remembered being thankful he did not have that added stress as well. "That must be very difficult."

She nodded. "It really is. I mean sometimes—I'm sorry." She cut herself off and shook her head. "I shouldn't be talking to you about this."

He offered her a soft smile. "Why not? I'm a good listener."

Kate watched as he sunk to the ground, saw in hand, and began taking down the tree they'd finished tying up. She wasn't sure why it struck her in that moment, but his genuine kindness almost surprised her. In the busy world in which she lived, it was rare to meet a complete stranger so interested in another person so quickly. "You are aren't you?"

Once the tree was down, he stood back up and brushed the snow from the knees of his jeans. "It's the writer in me: always listening and observing trying to find the root of the story. Don't let that fool you, though; I also love to talk."

She let out a light laugh before picking up the twine and walking to the next tree. "I guess what I was thinking was: sometimes I kind of wonder why Josh and I are even together. That sounds terrible right?"

Rick shook his head, fighting the urge to break out into a grin and yell "Dump the ass!" Instead, he went with a more reserved response. "Not terrible. People grow apart especially if they're not physically in the same place."

"Have you ever been in a long distance relationship?"

He hummed under his breath as he thought back many years prior. "Meredith did a traveling play once when Alexis was about eighteen months old. She was gone for ten weeks, but I was finishing a book and had Alexis. It honestly didn't bother me that much; the time seemed to pass quickly. In fairness, I should also mention that was definitely the beginning of the end of our marriage."

Kate offered a sympathetic smile and turned back to tying up the final branches of the second tree. "It's weird, you know. I left school when my mom-" Kate's fingertips froze and her voice vanished as if stolen from her throat. Damn—there she was again, talking about her mother as freely as she did every other subject. How did Rick have that effect on her? Hell, she hardly even mentioned her mother when Josh was around. Looking over at her companion, she saw he wore a cautious expression.

"Your aunt told me she had cancer."

Kate nodded. Okay so Rick knew. Probably not all the details, but at least that major piece. Not having to reveal it herself made her feel better. Plus, whenever she talked about her mother with someone who hadn't lost someone—Josh, for instance—she always feared them finding her silly or ridiculous for still having difficulty after so many years. Yet, Rick had lost his child and Kate knew he would understand.

"After she passed the whole family was a wreck. I needed to be here, with them and then, you know, life got in the way." She twisted her lips and shrugged. "But I really wanted to finish my degree so I'd spend the spring and summer semester in Boston and come back here for the Christmas season when I was needed. Took me a little longer but it worked out.

"I met Josh my last summer in the city and I liked our schedules then. I liked that he was busy. He was finishing up his residency and when he first told me about his doctors without borders stint I was like wow what a great guy. Now it's getting kind of old and we've been together so long it's getting to the point where a decision will have to be made."

Rick nodded, feeling as though he understood where she was going with their conversation. "One of you will have to move."

"Or…" She let the word hang in the air for a moment for saying the next sentence out loud made it all the more real. "Not move and that will be the decision."

As Rick sunk down to the ground to saw the second tree off at its base, his mind began to spin. Okay, so Kate was dating a doctor, but she didn't seem terribly happy with that doctor. In fact, she wondered why they were even together. That was good news for him. Potentially good news especially if he wanted—wait, did he want that? Did he want to be with Kate? That was certainly an interesting development. He didn't want to rule it out, but if that was going to be an option for him, there were certain things he needed to be honest about first.

Moving to the next tree, he began gently, "You know, Kate it's funny you talk about that because-"

Rick's words were cut off by a bloodcurdling scream from Kate. The moment she touched the third tree a bird flew out of its branches directly into her face. She covered her face with her hands and leapt back as she yelped. Rick stood a foot away, frozen from shock.

"Oh my god, oh my god—I'm sorry." Kate attempt to recover and collect herself, but the moment she looked at Rick, he burst out laughing. She squeaked, half with embarrassment, half with indignation. "Don't laugh at me!"

Still laughing he shook his head. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to—are you okay?"

Grumbling, she turned back to the tree and cautiously ruffled a few limbs before jumping back, fearful it would contain a second bird. "Kind of…"

"Are you afraid of birds?"

"When they fly directly into my face!"

Rick laughed harder, but then quickly tried to collect himself. "I'm sorry, really." He patted her shoulder gently though she gave him an irritated side-eye. "It would have scared me too if it flew into my face, but your reaction was very funny."

Cracking a small smirk she conceded, "Yeah, I guess it probably was. Oh, um—were you saying something?"

"Wha—oh." Sighing, he picked up the ball of twine once more; clearly the moment had passed. "Never mind; it wasn't important."

* * *

 _A/N: anyone familiar with the movie may have seen the boyfriend coming. To everyone else...sorry! :)_


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Friday morning, Kate awoke early, shuffled to the kitchen while still in her pajamas, and went directly to the coffee maker knowing it would definitely be a multiple-cup kind of morning. After going to bed with a headache, her sleep had been fitful the night before. Her discomfort was amplified by the fact that Josh's six-foot-four frame did not fit easily into her queen sized bed. In addition, the prior few nights aside, it had been nearly six months since they'd shared a bed, which meant she was also still re-acclimating.

While waiting for the pot to brew, Kate gazed out the kitchen window absentmindedly at first but quickly did a double take and groaned. Though the weather report the prior evening had predicted a dusting to two inches of snow would fall over night, it appeared they had undershot their prediction by several inches at least. Grumbling, Kate returned to the bedroom; the driveway and all the cars would need dug out before anyone could leave and, with her father only having one good arm, she knew she would need to do the bulk of the shoveling. Unless, perhaps, she could get a little help.

Ten minutes later, dressed and sipping on her first mug of caffeine, Kate tip toed her way to the guest bedroom. She raised her hand to knock, but froze before doing so. She hated to bother him. What if he was still sleeping? But she also did not want to clear the entire driveway by herself. Heat pricking at the back of her neck, Kate rapped her knuckles twice against the door. It opened a second later.

"Kate…good morning."

"I…ah…hi…" She stammered at the sight of Rick's naked chest. Evidently, he had been in the middle of getting dressed for he wore a pair of jeans—buttoned and zippered, but with an unfastened belt—and held a white t-shirt in his right hand. Though she did not want to overtly stare, it was difficult not to take notice of his well-defined shoulder muscles, nearly hairless chest, and the very hint of abdominal muscles that disappeared down into his… "It, um, snowed and I was, ah, wondering if you'd, um-"

"I'd be glad to help." He smiled and pulled his t-shirt on over his head. "Just give me two minutes?"

"Yep. Sure. No problem—take your time." With that, she walked away and shook her head; perhaps some time alone out in the freezing snow would knock the sense back into her.

* * *

Kate had just finished shoveling down the front sidewalk when Rick stepped out of the house wearing his newly acquired snow boots and scarf. He gazed at the pristine white blanket draped across the driveway and the cars parked on it and then back at Kate. "Where's Josh?"

"Ah…" She grimaced. "He was up late reading a medical journal so he didn't want to help. Sorry if it feels like I've twisted your arm into helping. You don't have to if you don't want to."

Rick fought the urge to narrow his eyes in the direction of the house. Oh, of course the douchebag doctor didn't want to help shovel. He was probably afraid he'd get a callus on his delicate hands. Glancing back to the deflated looking woman, he assured, "Of course I'm going to help you."

She smiled. "Do you know how to use a snow blower?"

He half-laughed. "No, but I'd be happy to try if you give me a quick demonstration."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later after a bit of a rough start, Rick had the majority of the Beckett's driveway cleared and had come to the conclusion that snow blowers were a magical invention. In fairness, the Becketts did have a very small driveway and with two vehicles parked on it, it made the space available to snow blow even smaller, but it certainly beat all the back-breaking hand shoveling.

As he used the machine, Kate had carefully dug out the snow around the cars in the places too tight for the blower to fit. Now all that left them was the more monumental task of removing the snow from the end of the driveway, which the plow clearing the street had so kindly placed there. Rick attempted to use the blower to remove some of it, but as it consisted of more of an ice-snow mix, the engine continually stalled out. So as not to ruin the blower, they decided to chip away at it by hand.

"You know, it's a funny thing about Manhattan." Rick grunted as he chucked a shovel full of the dense snow-ice mix from the driveway onto the lawn a few feet away. "We get snow—granted, probably not as much as you get up here—but we don't have to deal with it like this."

Kate chuckled. "You never had to dig out your car?"

"I never owned a car until I could afford to put it in an underground garage."

"Just so you wouldn't have to shovel snow around it!?"

"No, no," he said quickly to alleviate her confusion. "It just ended up working out that way. I never had a car until I was…twenty-two I believe. Then I only had it a few years before going into the army. I think I've driven more since I've been out than the prior decade combined."

"Did you have your license before twenty-two?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, got it at eighteen—my mother said it was a skill I needed to have and she was right. I used a neighbor's to take the test."

Kate let out a breathy chuckle. "I was driving tractors around the mill at thirteen so…"

Rick hummed at the mental image. "Bit of a tomboy were you?"

Kate stopped shoveling, leaned the shovel blade against the ground and rested her arm on it. "Um…no, I wouldn't say that. I was just eager to help—wanted to be like Daddy, you know?"

"Well…wanting to be like my mother would have involved wearing many feather boas and multicolored silk robes…which I feel would have set my life on a completely different path…but, yes, I get the spirit of what you're saying."

Kate chuckled and turned back to her shoveling. A few minutes later, as she was throwing a load of slush onto the grass, her hand slipped and she accidentally dumped the majority of it on Rick's coat. Though she quickly apologized he gaped at her. "You did that on purpose!"

"I swear I didn't! It was an accident!"

Though her words proclaimed innocence, the grin on her face said quite the opposite. Rick was no fool; he picked up on her enjoyment and decided to up the ante. While she was busy digging at a particularly stubborn chunk of snow, he walked over to the side of the driveway, packed together a sizeable snowball and tossed it at her. It hit her mid-back with a thwack and she gasped.

"Rick!"

He gave her a satisfied smile. "Now we're even."

She grumbled when he turned back to his shovel. Okay, that's how he wanted to play it? Fine, just fine. Tossing her shovel down, she walked over to the mailbox and scraped all the snow off the top and into her palm. Lumping it together into a misshapen ball, she heaved it at him. Unfortunately her aim was poor and it only clipped his shoulder. Yet, it was enough to get her intentions across. He tossed his shovel down as well and proclaimed, "This means war."

She squealed when she saw him dive for the ground. She raced into the front yard and prepared to make herself some ammunition, but he was too fast for her. Balls of white fluff began pelting at her form what felt like various directions. They hit her shoulders, chest, hands and finally the underside of her chin. She collapsed back on the ground laughing hysterically and pleading for mercy. When he towered over her, large boulder of snow cradled in the crook of his arm, she held out her hands, palms facing him. "Rick, no. Don't. Please."

He gazed down at the snow pile then her, considering. "I don't like to leave my enemy undefeated."

She giggled. "This isn't actual war!"

"Oh how very wrong you are." He held the snow menacingly for a few moments before dropping it just beside her feet. Then, he held out a hand to her. "Truce?"

She grabbed it and allowed him to hoist her back to a standing position. "Truce. That was fun though. I haven't had a snowball fight in… What?" she asked when she realized how strangely he as gazing at her.

Rick blinked, still fully entranced by the pinkness in her cheeks, the way her eyes lit up, and the melodious tone of her laughter. So much for getting over that crush. If anything, their snowball fight had made it all the worst. "I, ah, nothing. Sorry."

Her brow wrinkled slightly as he walked way, curious as to what his peculiar expression had meant. A moment later, she shrugged it off and returned to her shoveling.

* * *

After the shoveling was completed, Rick went inside and found himself completely ravenous. Over a breakfast with multiple helpings of oatmeal and bacon, he listened as the three others discussed Christmas presents and Christmas shopping, which had the wheels of Rick's brain turning.

What, he wondered, would be an appropriate gift to give Kate for Christmas? As he never intended on staying in New Hampshire until the holiday, getting her a present never crossed his mind. But, as far as he could tell, he would, in fact, be staying with the Becketts until Christmas if for no other reason than to fill in for Jim at the tree lot. If that was the case, he could hardly _not_ give her a present.

Per Jim's request, Rick drove to the mill mid-morning to fill in for a worker who had called out sick. As he drove, he continued to think of a potential gift, but struggled as he did not know her all that well. Traditionally, his gifts for women—whether they were significant others or colleagues of some sort—were purchased. Jewelry, designer scarves, and wines were among the top gifts, but for Kate that didn't seem right; it didn't seem enough. He felt she deserved something more…personal.

As the morning wore on, his brain continued to circle the same conclusion: a Christmas tree ornament. In his mind's eye he could picture exactly what he would make, but he still wondered if she would like it. Or if, given her aunt and mother's hobby, she'd seen more than enough of those to last a lifetime.

Deciding he would get a second opinion in the form of Kate's aunt and uncle, Rick walked into the mill office over his lunchbreak. There, he almost ran smack into Josh and Kate, who were evidently on their way out. "Oh sorry," she said quickly, patting her hand on his bicep. "Don't mean to run off but I think my dad's at the tree lot alone right now and-"

"No worries." Rick assured her. "I'll see you later."

They said their goodbyes and the moment the door shut behind Kate and Josh, Kate's uncle called out a snide, "So long Doctor Douche!" which earned him a smack on the arm and a scolding from his wife.

Rick's reaction fell somewhere between amusement and surprise. To him, a reaction like that could only mean one thing. "So you're not a fan?"

Rob grunted. "Let's just say our Katie can do better—much better!"

"Robert…" his wife sighed, her tone impatient.

He didn't back down. "Well she can! He doesn't even know her—doesn't even want to try. Always trying to talk her into moving to Boston to be with him only he's never there! Why would she move away from her family only to be alone in that big city? Besides, they only see each other thirty days a year – what kind of relationship is that?"

Rick pressed his lips together, considering. He had similar thoughts, but, as a stranger, he knew his opinion could easily be bias. Yet, if her uncle, a man who saw her very frequently and knew her as well as anyone, felt the same, that certainly had to mean something and gave Rick more than a little to think about.

"Sorry, Rick, there's no need for us to bore you with our family issues," Theresa said quickly. "Was there something you needed?"

"Oh! Ah, yes." He smiled, having nearly forgotten his original purpose. "I was, um, I was thinking about making Kate an ornament for Christmas—you know, as a thank you but then…well, I wasn't sure if she would like that. Or, if she even needs another ornament, you know?" He cringed. "What do you think?"

Theresa smiled up at her husband then turned back to Rick. "I think Kate would love anything that you made her and an ornament sounds perfect—she really does love those. Did you have something in mind?"

As the idea formed in his mind, Rick smiled wider than a child on Christmas morning. "Actually, I do…"

* * *

 _A/N: quite a few of you were quite unhappy with Josh's arrival. Hopefully this chapter made everyone feel a bit better :)_


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

"…well, then, we have a problem."

Rick stepped into the kitchen that Saturday morning to hear just the tail end of Jim's statement. "It's seven thirty in the morning, Jim; too early to have a problem."

Jim's face relaxed when he spotted the younger man. "I see your point, Rick, but unfortunately we do have a problem."

Crossing the room to retrieve some coffee, Rick asked, "What's going on?"

"We don't have a Santa."

His brow wrinkling, he turned back to face the elder man. "Excuse me?"

"Every year on the Saturday before Christmas, Santa visits the tree lot," Jim explained. "Generally, I play Santa, however this year _someone_ won't let me." He shot his daughter a pointed look.

Kate looked unfazed. "I stand by what I said. You wouldn't be able to pick up the kids and pull them into your lap. Even if someone else did it for you, your shoulder is still healing and with that brace on your arm…it's just not a good idea. Why risk injuring yourself even more?"

Rick couldn't say that he disagreed with Kate, but chose to stay out of their argument for the time being.

"Well, anyway, I asked Rob to do it but evidently the costume doesn't fit him."

Kate laughed. "He couldn't even get the coat on."

"Right and with only a few hours to go there's no way we'll find another Santa costume. This is my fault—I wasn't thinking…"

Kate stood from the kitchen table and rubbed her hand over her father's shoulders. "Don't blame yourself dad. So we won't have Santa this year. It's really no big-"

"Rick, what size pants do you wear?" The patriarch interrupted his daughter when a brilliant idea hit him. There was no point in asking Kate's boyfriend; he had nearly six inches on Jim, but the newcomer was only taller than him by a fraction of that amount.

Before the rather shell-shocked Rick could respond, Kate jumped in with a stern, "Dad! No." The idea was preposterous not to mention completely taking advantage of Rick's generosity. They already had him cutting trees, hauling them to the lot, selling them, loading them into customer's cars _and_ pitching in at the mill itself. Besides, this wasn't just another physical task; she knew this would have an emotional component for Rick as well.

Jim arched an eyebrow towards his daughter. "Why not?"

"Rick has already done more than enough and-"

"But if he fits the costume-"

"Dad!"

"It's okay, Kate." Rick promised with a slow smile. Then he turned to her father. "I usually wear a thirty-four waist."

Jim grinned. "Perfect! We can-"

"Stop, no." Kate stepped forward so she was standing in between her father and Rick. She turned to the younger man and leaned in so she could speak quietly. She could not imagine what having dozens of small children sit on his lap, smile at him and ask for goodies would do. She could barely handle running her mother's Operation Christmas Cheer every year, and that wasn't nearly as intimately related to her lost loved one as this would be. "You don't have to do this. He doesn't—he doesn't know about your-"

Rick shook his head gently and promised, "It's okay." Then, gazing at Jim around Kate's head he explained, "What Kate's trying to say is I had a daughter that died and I'm sure she's concerned about me playing Santa after that, but I don't mind; I'll be okay."

Jim took a half step back as though the news had hit him physically. "Oh Rick I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

"Of course you didn't."

"Was she sick?" Josh chimed in.

Rick shook his head. "No. She was killed in the San Francisco terror attacks seven years ago."

Jim shook his head and glanced over at his own daughter. As the thought of losing her tore him up inside, he couldn't imagine what the younger man was going through. "I'm truly sorry to hear that. How old was she?"

"Three and a half."

While Josh muttered, "Jesus," under his breath, Jim shook his head. "How awful. I'm sorry I volunteered you; I totally understand if-"

"Guys, really," Rick said, his tone firm. "I'll be fine."

* * *

Okay, well maybe he was just mostly fine. He would have been totally fine had the first little girl in line not been a red head with freckles and a missing front tooth. Looking at her did cause a significant ache in his heart, but it was fine; he was going to be fine.

Decked out in Jim's red pants and red-with-white-trim coat he certainly felt like Santa. A Santa that wore brown work boots because Jim's black pair didn't fit him. After tugging on his white gloves, he turned towards his companion. "How do I look?"

"Just like Saint Nick," she replied.

Kate, too, was dressed for the event. With green leggings, a green turtleneck and a red jumper overtop she had every intention of playing Santa's helper elf. With the day's temperature barely cresting the thirty degree mark, Rick originally expressed concern for her limited amount of clothing, but she assured him that had been taken into account. Her costume was size too big so thermal pants and a thermal shirt could be worn beneath.

After she'd reviewed his attire, Kate pulled on the final piece of her outfit: earmuffs in the shape of elf ears. Rick laughed out loud. "Those are ridiculous."

"I know, but the kids get a kick out of them."

Then, after one quick practice of his "Ho, ho, ho," Rick stepped out of Santa's sleigh—er, Jeep—to greet the children waiting in line.

* * *

Rick was surprised at how quickly the first hour went and continually astounded at just how many children were standing in line to sit on Santa's lap. Surely, there were other Santas in the area to visit. Presumably even some inside where neither the children nor their parents would be forced to shiver for warmth. Yet, there they were, lined up with bright eyes and excited grins. Then again, he supposed, not many Santas sat in a wonderland filled with real Christmas trees.

With each new child he scooped onto his lap, Rick was never sure exactly what they would ask for. Some kept their gifts reasonable asking for one specific toy or a presenting a general request, like a new bike. Other children asked for something fantastical like a unicorn or a flying skateboard. Still others listed many items and would have kept on going if Rick hadn't capped their request to three per child so as to keep the line moving.

It only took Rick half an hour to realize he'd forgotten how amusing and creative small children could be. And innocent—he'd forgotten the innocence. One little blonde girl he estimated to be no older than five gazed up with him with her hazel eyes and asked for her sick daddy to get better for Christmas; it nearly broke his heart.

During his second hour as Santa the children's visits were more spread out, less constant, which gave him time to think. Though he never would have thought of doing it, playing Santa was actually…fun. Moreover, it made him realize that he actually missed being a father. Yes, that ache for Alexis would always be in his heart. He would never forget her and would always love her, but for the first time in seven years he also had the desire to move on.

In the years immediately following her death, Rick was convinced he would never marry again. He would never have more children. He couldn't. It just hurt too much. But, as they say, time heals all wounds. In the army, he mostly focused on the day to day, not the future, but for the prior year he'd been trying to open himself up to the idea of moving on, finding a woman to love, to marry, and to have a family with.

As he said goodbye to the last child of the day Rick realized he was ready. He wanted to find that woman, to start that life. Now, he needed only to find a woman who wasn't already involved with someone else.

* * *

As Rick stepped behind the sales hut to remove his hat, beard and Santa jacket, Kate chewed on her bottom lip. Normally, after an hour of helping children on and off her father's lap, Kate grew tired of her yearly chore as Santa's elf and was all too glad when their time can to an end. That day, however, was different.

Kate could have listened to Rick's silly reactions to the children's requests for hours. She continually had to fight to stop from laughing out loud. Even better, her fears about it being sad for him were completely unfounded. Rick was clearly a man meant to be a father; she was sure he was great at it, though that thought made her the slightest bit sad. That opportunity had been taken from him once, but she hoped for his sake he'd have a second chance.

"Glad it's over?" she asked as she pulled of her elf earmuffs.

He laughed. "Yeah, I guess; I'm glad I did it though. Those kids were great."

She nodded and hummed. "Listen, I know you told my dad you'd finish the afternoon here, but when you're done you should come over to the legion building. Tonight is the Christmas party for all the Beckett's Mill employees."

"Oh yeah?" Rick folded up the Santa jacket and slid his hands into the pockets of the sweatshirt he wore beneath. "Thought I heard mention of some sort of shindig."

"Yeah. My aunt and uncle plan it every year. It's not…the craziest party you'll ever see, but the food is usually pretty good."

"Well thanks, but I don't want to intrude…"

She shook off his concern. "No please; we'd love to have you there."

He looked uncertain for another few seconds before submitting with a nod. "Ah, yeah okay. I'll head over after I finish up here. Where is it again?"

"The legion building two blocks away. From here you just take a left onto Hamilton and you'll see the sign; you really can't miss it."

He nodded, mentally repeating the information in hopes he wouldn't forget. "Got it. Thanks Kate."

She smiled and went to walk away but for an inexplicable reason felt compelled not to. Instead, she stepped up to him and pressed a quick kiss onto his cheek. "Thanks for doing this Rick."

"I, ah, yeah—yeah sure." He stammered, somewhat surprised by her action.

At his wide-eyed gaze, Kate felt a blush start at her ears and quickly invade her cheeks. Why the hell had she kissed his cheek? He must have thought she was insane! "Ah, well I'll—um—see you later!" Then after flashing him a smile that probably looked more nervous than anything else, she hurried towards her vehicle still wondering what on earth was going through her brain.

* * *

As he locked up the tree lot that evening, Rick still felt uncertain about joining the mill's holiday party. Yes, Kate had invited him and he knew Jim would want him there as well. He had also met many of the men who worked at the mill. Yet, he wasn't one of them; he wasn't technically an employee. When his stomach growled loudly, Rick decided that he would stop in if for no other reason than to grab something to eat, but there was no reason for him to stay long; he didn't want to intrude.

Though he was concerned, Rick quickly found Kate's directions to the legion easy to follow. She was right; once he was on Hamilton Street the building was impossible to miss. Parking, however, proved slightly more challenging.

After hiking the block and a half back to the legion, Rick ducked inside the building and let out a sigh of relief at the warmth. He rubbed his hands together in an attempt to thaw them as he stepped inside the crowded open room. There, he was met with muted Christmas decorations, the smell of stale beer and his least favorite thing as of late: an unfamiliar crowd.

Doing his best to stick to the outskirts of the room, Rick nodded a polite greeting to each cluster of partygoers he passed until he reached the back of the room where a table full of food was on full display. He grabbed a plate and loaded on ham, green beans, mashed potatoes and what appeared to be some type of pasta salad before spotting the table where Kate's aunt and uncle sat. He only made it halfway to them before Rob began dramatically flagging him down.

"Glad to see you here!"

"Yeah, well, Kate invited me." He explained as he took a seat beside the gentleman who appeared to be midway through his second plate of the evening.

"As well she should have. With all the help you've given us over the past two weeks you belong here just as much as the rest of us."

"Thanks," Rick said before picking up his plastic fork and digging into his food.

As he ate, Rick took more time to look around the room. He had no idea the mill employed so many! Granted, it appeared the employees had brought their spouses and, in some cases, children along with them which increased the population significantly. Still, for such a seemingly small operation Castle guessed it had at least forty employees.

With his meal finished, he realized he'd forgotten a drink so Rob directed him to the beers. On his way to the other end of the room Rick deposited his plate and fork in the trash and sidled his way through more clusters of people. In doing so, he could not help but overhear snippets of conversation. He heard men and women commenting on how nice it was of the Becketts to throw a party when it had been a difficult year. He heard one man express surprise that the mill would remain open for another year. Yet another commented about potentially looking for another job. Rick let all these thoughts ruminate in his mind as he twisted the cap off a beer and took a sip.

"Rick! Hi!"

His thoughts were interrupted by Kate waving at him from the center of the room. He smiled to her, and she came over and gave him a brief one-armed hug. "I'm so glad you came!"

"Thanks for inviting me. You look very nice tonight."

To that point he had seen her almost exclusively in jeans and sweaters save the one time he caught her in her green flannel pajamas early one morning. To the party, she wore black dress pants and a cranberry button-down shirt that appeared to sparkle despite the dim lighting in the room. She also wore jewelry and had her hair curled softly—another first.

"Oh," she gazed down at herself, and tucked a stray hair behind her ear, "thanks. Did you get something to eat?"

"Yep, yep it was all great. Thanks."

"Great! Well-"

"Kate!"

She was interrupted by her doctor boyfriend calling out her name and beckoning her back to the center of the room. Rick craned his neck above the crowd and saw that Josh was standing with Jim and a man he recognized from the mill, though he could not recall his name.

"Sorry I-"

"No worries; go ahead." He smiled reassuringly at her.

Fifteen minutes later, after chatting with a few of the mill employees who recognized him, Rick had made his way back to his original seat beside Rob and Theresa. By that point in the evening, the main meal had been cleared away and several platters of Christmas cookies had replaced it. In addition, music was playing and several people had taken to the dancefloor. Noticeably absent were Kate and Josh, who stood side-by-side along one wall looking as though they were on an awkward middle school date, which Rick found particularly interesting.

"…I bet Rick will agree with me on that."

"Hmm?" Rick grunted. He had not been paying attention to the conversation Rob and Theresa were having behind him, though his ears perked at the mention of his name.

"You agree with me, right Ricky?"

"About?"

"Dancing." Rob gestured towards the happy couples. "Ridiculous. Amiright?" He said the final phrase as though it was all one word, though Rick suspected that was a result of the multiple drinks he'd had that evening.

"Oh, I don't know; I don't mind it so much with the right person—and to the right song." He concluded, offering Theresa a small smile.

"See," Theresa said, nudging her husband, "he likes dancing."

Rob grunted. "Then you should dance with him."

She smiled. "What do you say, Rick?"

"Oh—oh! Um…sure, why not?" Okay, so he had not intended on dancing that evening, but he was game for a spin around the floor with the kind older woman, especially when she seemed so eager. She practically bounded from her seat and yanked him on the floor so swiftly he nearly stumbled. He recovered, though, and she began to dance her way towards the center of the floor just as the song switched to "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

"Oh! Ouch!" Theresa whined and stopped moving, looking down at her feet.

"Are you okay?"

She took another step and notably limped on her left foot. She picked it up a few inches from the ground and examined it with a grimace before looking back to Rick. "Yes I just think—oh!—these shoes are pinching my toes too much to dance like this."

"Oh that's okay, we can just-"

"Kate! Kate dear!" Theresa called out, charging off the dance floor with surprising agility for someone who had been complaining of foot pain not a moment earlier. "You take my place, okay?"

Kate nearly choked on the beer she sipped. "W-what?"

"Take my place—finish the song with Rick." To emphasize her point she took Rick's hand, grabbed Kate's and linked them together. Then, patting both their arms, she smiled and walked away.

Rick gaped at her. It hit him in that moment that the whole thing had been a set up patched together with the subtlety of cannon fire. After taking a moment to recover, he cleared his throat and glanced at the confused woman whose hand he held. "Uh, hi."

"Hi." She echoed.

"You don't have to dance with me."

She set her beer down on the table behind her and turned back to him. "What if I want to?"

"Oh well…sure." Wasting no time, he tugged on her hand and pulled her in close to him so one hand rested in the center of her back and the other clasped her hand lightly. As he turned her towards the center of the floor, he thought he caught a perturbed look from Josh, which really only succeeded in making him happier.

"Are you having a nice time tonight?"

He nodded. "Very nice. Thank you for inviting me."

"You're welcome. You're…" Her brow knit together as she looked up at him. "Actually quite good at this."

He almost laughed. "You expected me to be stepping on your feet by now?"

"No…"

He hummed. "Well, fun fact: the summer I was fourteen my mother made me take ballroom dancing lessons."

Kate nearly snorted. "Shut up; no she didn't."

"She did indeed. It was part of her continuing effort to torture and embarrass me."

She grinned and his heart fluttered. "Did it work?"

Rick cleared his throat in an attempt to alleviate the swelling sensation in his chest; it didn't work so he decided to just go with it. "Eh, well at the time I was mortified, but as it turns out being able to dance is actually a skill women find very sexy."

Though he feared his comment may have crossed a flirting line and resulted in her reacting negatively that did not appear to be the case. Instead, she arched her eyebrow as she looked up at him. "Is that so?"

Feeling the effects of his second beer, he nodded. "It is. And to prove my point I'm going to dip you. Ready?"

"Go for it."

With an eyebrow wiggle, he pulled her in tight with his right arm while simultaneously rotating his body left and allowing her to dip down, albeit briefly. Then he stepped back and used their joined hands as leverage to pull her upright again. She returned a bit too quickly and nearly stumbled into him, which resulted in her releasing his hand and placing hers against his chest for balance. "See?"

She let out a light laugh and skimmed her hand up so it rested on his shoulder. Gazing up at him beneath the curtain of her hair she said, "Okay, your mother kind of had a point." Instead of returning her hand to his, Kate kept it on his shoulder and tucked her body into his a bit tighter as the swayed. Something about the way his hand cradled her back and his warm arms around her made her forget that they were not actually alone in the room. That was until they were interrupted by her less-than-pleased significant other.

"Kate?"

"Wha—oh." Kate stopped swaying as she looked up at her perturbed boyfriend. She quickly stepped out of Rick's embrace and flashed him an appreciative smile. "Thanks for the dance."

"Anytime," he replied. After ignoring the irritated look Josh shot him, Rick returned to the table at which Rob and Theresa sat. If he was not mistaken, he believed he'd witnessed them high-five as he approached.

"You and Kate looked like you were having such a nice time out there!" Theresa gushed when he sat.

Rick hummed and shot her a pointed look. "How's your foot feeling?" She blushed and turned away from him.

Not a minute later, Jim approached the table and leaned down to speak to Rick over the noise of conversation and music. "There's a bag of ice out in my truck and it looks like we're running low. Would you mind?"

"Not at all," Rick replied. He stood and took a step towards the front of the building, but Jim stopped him and directed him towards a back door that led directly to the small parking lot already full when Rick arrived.

Rick hurried out the back door, but had the sense to pause when he heard a familiar voices conversing from just outside.

"…I'm serious, Josh. I never agreed to move to Boston with you."

"C'mon, Kate; we talked about this. I'll be there for a few months next year—you can settle in and-"

"No. I'm not leaving my father, my family—my job!"

"Well, if your father loses the mill there'll be no reason for you to stay!"

"How can you-"

Realizing he was overhearing too much, Rick pushed on the door and stepped outside to come face to face with the arguing couple. He managed to feign as much shock as they appeared to have by saying, "Oops, excuse me—just getting ice for your dad."

Though Josh glared, Kate shook him off. "No problem; it's in the back of his-"

"Yep, got it; thanks." He waved before stepping around them and heading to Jim's navy blue Jeep, remnants of their conversation echoing through his mind.

* * *

 _A/N: As i was doing a final read through of this chapter this morning I realized some people might not know what I'm talking about when i say "legion/legion building" - that's a shortened version of American Legion which, in this context, is kind of like a bar/meeting house for American military veterans. Members rent the buildings out for events - ie a Christmas party. I've never been to one, so that's probably not the best explanation, but a lot of people at my work go to the local one so that's why I'm kind of familiar with them._

 _As always, thanks for all your reviews! I really appreciate them!_


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

"Ok Rick…This—ah!—this isn't working."

"Careful!" He warned, swooping into grab her arm as she stumbled in the deep snow. Using his right hand on her right forearm, he stood behind her and guided her with his left hand gently on her left shoulder. "We're nearly there."

She clicked her tongue as she continued to move forward in the unfamiliar space. "I still don't understand why I'm wearing this blindfold."

"Because I'm surprising you."

"…and you couldn't have done that without a blindfold?"

"Well, no. This place I'm taking you—you've been there before so seeing any part of where we're going would ruin the surprise, but we're nearly there. Two minutes—tops."

With a heavy sigh, she relented. "Fine."

As Rick guided her around a protruding rock, he pressed his lips tightly together. He really, really hoped she liked his surprise. He truly had no guess as to what her reaction would be, but as long as it was somewhere north of mediocre, he would consider it a win.

His plan had been born early the afternoon before: Sunday, the day after the mill's holiday party. The Becketts and their guests had a late breakfast due to the prior night's festivities, after which Kate's boyfriend left almost immediately. Evidently, he had business in Boston early that week and was due at his parent's for dinner that evening. He did, however, leave with the promise of returning on Christmas Eve.

Almost immediately after Josh's departure Rick began to notice Kate's glum attitude. Though she insisted she was fine, she spent a great deal of time staring out the window contemplatively in lieu of reading the book open in her lap. She also nearly ran into him twice as they navigated the kitchen making dinner, which gave Rick the idea that he should do something to distract her and cheer her up.

Early Monday morning, he asked Theresa what her suggestion for a pick-me-up for Kate would be. As he suspected given her antics from the holiday party, the aunt was all too happy to help and had an almost immediate suggestion: Rick should take Kate ice skating. According to Theresa, Kate _loved_ ice skating and because of her father's injury and the busy schedule at the tree lot had yet to have the opportunity to do so that year. Theresa went on to explain that there was a sizeable pond located not quite a quarter mile behind the mill which the Beckett family often used for winter activities.

While Rick agreed to this idea, he confessed to some logistical challenges. Namely, how to get to the pond, whether or not it was frozen enough to skate on safely, and where he would obtain skates on short notice. Rob volunteered to show Rick the route to the pond and, once they were there, he confirmed the ice was thick enough. Also, he lent Rick his skates as they conveniently wore the same shoe size. Thus, Rick's plan was set.

Shortly after she finished eating lunch that Monday, Rick asked Kate to join him for a surprise. Naturally, she balked at having to wear a blindfold, but after he promised it would be worth it, she agreed, though skeptically. As he had never led anyone around by blindfold previously, Rick failed to take into account how difficult that would be on the uneven snow packed path leading to the lake, but thankfully, with the lake in sight, they'd made it relatively unscathed.

"Okay, okay. Stop right there." Rick squeeze Kate's shoulder and arm and she stopped walking instantly. He lifted his hands and untied the makeshift blindfold at the back of her head, letting the scarf fall into his hands. "Ta-da."

Kate scanned the scenery in front of her with her lips pursed. "The pond is the surprise?"

"Kinda." He hurried around her and pointed to a large rock several feet away on which rested two pairs of skates: one black with matching laces and one white with pink laces.

"Skating." Kate concluded when her eyes fell on the objects.

Despite Rick's hope, Kate's tone sounded more like she had said, "dentist." Feeling the pricks of nervous sweat forming on his brow, he said quickly. "I, uh, checked with your uncle and he said it should be frozen enough for us as long as we stay on this end."

She hummed and took two steps forward so she stood next to the rock. She let her gloved index finger trace the laces of one skate. "What is it?" Rick asked from behind her.

She turned and offered him a small smile. "I haven't been skating since my mom died."

"O-oh," Rick said, his shoulders deflating immediately. She hadn't been skating in years?! But her aunt had said….ugh! Theresa had got him again! First with the dancing and now the skating. That was it; he was never listening to her again. "I'm sorry; they never mentioned that."

"Who?"

With a half cringe he confessed, "Your aunt and uncle. This was kind of your aunt's idea. I got the skates from them. I'm sorry," he added hastily. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Kate shook her head. "No, no. It's a nice gesture, really; I appreciate it." Her gaze turned back to the skates as she dusted her fingertips over them, recalling the last time she wore them, just months before her mother's diagnosis. The laugher they'd shared as they spun around the pond pretending to be Olympic figure skaters while really struggling to do a simple figure-eight.

"Kate." Rick's voice was soft, though loud enough to pull her from her quasi trance. "If you don't want to skate then-"

"No we should. We should." She repeated, her voice a bit more convincing the second time.

He smiled and walked over to join her at the rock where they carefully switched from boots to skates being mindful not to step in any piles of snow with their sock covered feet.

"Are you a good skater, Rick?" Kate asked while lacing up her second boot.

"Um…"

"Uh oh." She laughed at the almost grimace on his face.

"Well, see, it's been a while for me too. I tried to take Alexis and-" His voice cut off sharply as the memory of a grinning, orange-haired little girl popped into her mind. She had been so insistent— _so insistent!_ All it took was watching a skating competition on television with her mother and suddenly Alexis was bound and determined to be the next Michelle Kwan.

After days of begging, pleading, whining, and one over-the-top temper-tantrum, Rick _finally_ agreed that they would take the little girl skating. Naturally, on the Saturday morning they agreed on, his wife had suddenly determined it was more important for her to go on an impromptu audition rather than watch their only child teeter across the ice. Rick didn't mind, though; he was used to all their daddy-daughter outings.

Arriving at the rink, Alexis's eyes were saucer-wide and she could barely wait for him to lace on her tiny skates. She was so excited that she failed to heed his warning and instead raced headlong onto the ice as though skating would be as easy as running across a park; it wasn't. She barely glided for five seconds before crashing to the ice. In doing so, she bit through her bottom lip, which meant their day of skating had been over before it ever began. As they waited for the doctor to stich her lip Rick promised her they'd go skating again the following year when she was a little older. Sadly, they never had the chance.

"Rick?" Kate's delicate tone pulled him from his memories.

He looked over at her with a half-embarrassed smile. "Ah sorry, sorry. I hadn't thought about that day in a long time it just kind of hit me," he said, a certain tightness in his chest.

She nodded. "I understand." After verifying her skates were tied correctly, Kate walked over to the edge of the lake and glanced back over her shoulder for Rick. She held out her left hand, palm up and said, "C'mon, let's go together. Ready?"

"No," he said as he stepped up beside her.

"Rick!"

He smiled at her laughter and slid his gloved hand into hers. "Ok, ok ready."

* * *

Okay, he could do this. Kind of. He hadn't fallen yet, so that was a plus. As much as he tried to replay the phrase "just like riding a bike" in his mind, there was a reason that saying was not about ice skating. Damn were his calves and ankles going to ache later! But he hadn't fallen—yet—and he took that as a win.

"Can I ask you something?"

Rick glanced over at his skating partner, who, much to his relief, looked much more at ease on the lake than he despite her ten year absence. "Always."

"So…you're from Manhattan. Did you ever live anywhere other than there?"

"Other than my time in the army, no."

She nodded. "So then I'm just curious…what do you think of Hinsdale? I mean, has your opinion changed since you inquired about a general store?"

He laughed when he spotted the twinkle in her eye. "Never going to live that down, am I?"

She shook her head, grinning. "I'm just curious, because the first semester I spent in Boston was quite…shocking, for lack of a better term, so I'm interested as to your opinion of the opposite."

Rick glided silently over the ice for several moments, considering her question. He'd noticed the differences between big city and small town, of course, but never really gave them specific thought; he'd never made a list of pros versus cons, but some of them were pretty obvious to list off the top of his head.

"It's interesting because they are very different, but there's good and bad to both. Take, for instance, something as simple as grocery shopping. In Manhattan that means collecting all your cloth bags, walking to the corner store, picking out what you need, but only what you can carry, lugging them back to your apartment—and keep in mind this needs to be done rain, snow, blistering heat or otherwise. And add a toddler to the mix? Forget about it; it's nearly impossible.

"Driving to the store, loading the groceries in the car and then carrying them right into your house is definitely much easier. Then again, you could always have the groceries delivered in Manhattan." He finished with a wink. After a moment he added, "It did take me a while to get used to driving a car everywhere after being used to a subway and bus system."

"Yeah but don't you have to wait for the subway and bus? You never have to wait for your car." She pointed out.

"Fair point—unless you're waiting in traffic."

She chuckled. "We don't have much of that here."

"I noticed." His smile faded away as he came to an almost-stop while skating. "It's funny…growing up and even into my early adulthood I knew I'd never leave Manhattan. Sure, the more money I made I contemplated buying a beach house, but I knew Manhattan would always be my home. But…then I joined the army, went to war and even still I knew in the back of my mind I'd come home to Manhattan…until I actually got to Manhattan."

Now very curious, Kate skated up to stand in front of him and watched his expression closely. It was clouded and she wondered if he was remembering something traumatic that happened to him while overseas. She'd heard the stories on the news and could only imagine the horrors he had seen.

"I don't…I don't like crowds now. I used to walk down a busy street and barely notice how many people nudged me or passed just a little too close. Now I notice." He turned his gaze to her, his eyes softening slightly. "It wasn't bad. I mean, I never had a panic attack or anything, though I know some of my colleagues weren't as lucky, but I did feel a heightened level of anxiousness, especially if I really got trapped in a densely crowded area."

"How long has it been? Since you've been out of the army, I mean." Kate asked

"August, so only a few months."

She hummed in response and started skating again.

"Sorry I got distracted and never answered your question about what I thought of Hinsdale."

"It's okay."

He took in a deep breath. "Long story short: I like it…and that surprises me. Even with the anxiousness I felt in the city, Manhattan still felt like my home. But here…it's different. It's calm. I don't think I've felt anxious once since I got here. Well, maybe right after I tackled your father that first day…"

"Pretty sure we were all anxious then," she said wisely.

"True…"

"So, ah, does that mean you're not completely miserable that you're stuck in this one horse town?"

He blinked slowly at her. "Not in the least."

* * *

"Was that a cracking sound?" Rick nearly froze five minutes later when he swore he heard the ice cracking beneath his weight. Just before he came to a complete stop, he pushed off and continued to glide knowing that his stationary weight would only stress the ice further.

Kate gazed down at the frozen surface, searching for hairline fissures. "I'm not sure. I don't think so…"

"It sounds like cracking."

She glanced up to see an expression on his face akin to being at the top of the crest of a rollercoaster without a safety harness. She fought a laugh. "Are you afraid of going through?"

"Absolutely!"

Her expression growing more amused she pointed out, "I think it's only like eighteen inches deep right here—if that."

He grumbled. "So I wouldn't die but I'd probably lose a toe or two…"

"Drama queen."

He shot her an unappreciative look and her smile grew. Fighting the fluttering in his heart, he turned towards the edge of the lake. "I'm getting off, but don't let me stop you."

Gingerly, Rick glided to the edge of the lake until he stood just before the spot from which they entered. As the very edge of the lake was covered in delicate ice mixed with debris, he knew the dismount would be the trickiest, but he was up for the challenge. He licked his lips and lined up his spot well before pushing off with his left foot. His right landed safely on the embankment and for a blissful second he thought he'd made it, but then his left skate caught the edge of the rough, he lost his balance and pitched forward into the snow.

Kate gasped at the sickening thud and subsequent groan she heard. Her back had been turned to him at the time and she spun to see him face down in the snow, his feet dangling just beside the ice. "Oh god Rick! Are you okay?" She was at his side in two glides and, unlike her companion, alighted onto the embankment with little difficulty.

He moaned when he felt her fingers touch the back of his shoulder. "Yeah just great. It's good this rock hard patch of ice broke my fall." Steeling himself with a deep breath, Rick used his palms flat against the ground to raise his upper body several inches. Using his upper lip and jaw he attempted to contort his face to alleviate the stinging, but found doing so cause immediately pain in the bridge of his nose. He hissed. "I think my nose is broken."

"What? Let me see."

Though it pained him, Rick rotated his body towards Kate's and tucked his right arm beneath him so his elbow propped up the top of his body. When he opened his eyes, he saw her crouching beside him, her face level with his as she examined his nose. Her brow furrowed in concentration, she grasped the glove of her right hand between her teeth and pulled it off. With her hand free, she reached up and delicately touched the side of his nose.

"Ow! Shit!"

The wrinkles in her brow deepened. "Did that hurt?"

"YES!"

With an even gentler touch, she skimmed her fingers over the other side of his nose. "But how much? Enough to be broken?"

"I don't know." He groaned.

She sat down in the snow beside him and pulled off her left glove. She placed her index fingers on either side of the bridge of his nose and pressed gently. As he did not immediately scream out in pain, she concluded, "I don't think it's broken. Bruised, probably."

Reaching to her left, she grabbed a fistful of snow and formed it into an arched shape which she placed atop his nose; he hissed. She used the pad of her thumb to stroke the end of his nose—the part not covered in snow—as she said, "I know it's cold, but this should help."

Rick shut his eyes and sucked in several deep breaths through his lips trying to forget about how _freaking cold_ the snow felt directly on his skin and focus instead on his breathing. Though he doubted the snow pack was on his face for longer than a minute, when Kate pulled it away his nose did feel significantly better; maybe it wasn't broken after all.

"Does that feel better?"

"Yeah I…" Castle used his elbow against the ground to push himself up into a sitting position. As he did this, Kate's hands slid from the edges of his nose to the crest of his jaw. When he anchored his palm into the ground he noticed that because she was leaning her body over his, he had inadvertently brought their faces very close together— _very_ close together.

He knew he should have moved—apologized and slid away—but he couldn't. He was mesmerized by the warmth of her fingertips splayed against his cheek, the chocolate-emerald swirl in her hazel eyes, and the pink fullness of her parted, frigid air kissed lips. Just as he thought about how much he wanted to kiss her she leaned forward and did exactly that.

Their lips brushed together and the pads of her fingers pressed more firmly into his flesh. She pulled back and her bottom lip grazed against his, filing his spine with the lovely feelings only a perfect first kiss could bring. She held his face for the space of two heartbeats before pressing her mouth against his once more. Rick responded by moving his left hand to the back of her shoulder and pulling her in tighter.

Their mouths crushed together and Kate let out a soft whimper before skimming her hands from his jaw to his neck. She sucked in a breath and went to tilt her head the opposite direction for another kiss, but in doing so brushed her nose rather sharply against his and he cried out.

"Sorry!" She used the flats of her palms against his collar bone to push them apart. When she saw his half-stunned, lip parted expression, horror filled her gut. Oh god! What had she done!? "I-I-I-I'm sorry." She stammered while scrambling to her feet—a challenge given the slippery embankment. "I shouldn't have. I'm sorry."

"Kate." Rick dropped his chin to his chest and pushed himself first to his knees and then up into a standing position. By the time he was upright, she was already swapping one skate for a boot.

"We should, ah, go back."

"Kate."

"They'll be wondering where we went."

"Kate." She didn't respond, but as she reached for her second boot, he found himself sighing, "I'm sorry."

With less fury, she slid her foot into her boot and turned to face him. He could tell her bottom lip was trembling, though her voice was incredibly strong as she shook her head and said, "You didn't do anything wrong." With that, she grabbed her skates and stalked off towards the path leading back to the mill.

* * *

 _A/N: I could be cruel and not tell you when the next chapter is coming...but you do get a chapter a day until Christmas :)_


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

"Katie what happened to you?" Her aunt half-laughed when the younger girl stumbled into the mill office, her boots untied, cheeks fiery red, and her hair falling out of its braid, dusted with the dampness of melting snow. Though Theresa could think of several scenarios to explain her disheveled appearance, none of them quite matched with her expression. "You look like you just saw Jacob Marley's ghost."

Kate tossed her skates down on the floor beside the door. She shrugged off her jacket and took two steps into the office to come face to face with her aunt. "I kissed Rick."

Theresa's eyes widened. "Ah..."

The trembling in Kate's bottom lip took over once more and she could not have stopped it if she tried. She paced back and forth in the small area between the desks and brought her hands up to cradle her cheeks. "Oh my god, oh my god," she repeated. She kissed Rick. She _kissed_ him. _She_ kissed _him_. God, what was she thinking! "I…I can't believe I… I don't even know what… What was I thinking?"

Her aunt blinked. "That you have feelings for Rick."

Kate stopped pacing abruptly and her eyes fell on her aunt's knowing smile. "Wha—no. No." She spoke firmly despite the clench in her gut. "I'm with Josh."

"Which does not prevent you from having feelings for Rick..."

"But I...I don't know." She dropped her chin and covered her forehead with both hands. Oh god her head…why did nothing make sense in her head? Josh was her boyfriend. He had been for a long time, but in that moment all she could think about was Rick's lips against hers, his warm breath on her cheek, his hand on her back and how she just wanted him to—

"Rick's a good man."

Kate's eyes flicked to her aunt's and she felt her shoulders relax fractionally. "Of course; of course he is." There was no questioning that. He was a good man. A man who had served their country honorably. A man who saved the life of her father when he was nothing more than a stranger. A man who ached from the loss of his child yet still got up every day with a smile of his face.

Kate continued her pacing as she spoke. "I…I guess in some ways I feel more at ease talking to him because he understands parts of me that Josh can't. He makes me laugh and..." _and makes my heart feel like its flying_ , she answered in her own mind. At least, it felt that way while she was kissing him. Though, to be fair, she recalled similar feelings when her relationship with Josh was fresh and new.

Her aunt's smile widened. "You liked kissing him and I'm going to go out on a limb and assume he liked kissing you."

Kate froze. "Why? Do you think he...I mean…" Oh god. She groaned when her cheeks flushed with heat. Was she really trying to ask her aunt if she had a clue as to what Rick's feelings were for her? How absurd! They were not gossiping middle schoolers standing in front of their lockers!

Her aunt's conclusion, though, was simple. "Of course he likes you! He'd be a fool not to."

Kate gave a half smile to this opinion. "But did he might not."

"Don't be ridiculous. It's completely obvious with the way he looks at you...particularly after that dance the two of you shared."

At her aunt's cheeky smile, Kate groaned and covered her face with her hands. "Oh god." She, of course, vividly recalled the moment she'd relaxed into Rick's warm, comforting arms…and her very irritated boyfriend had interrupted them.

Theresa stepped up and placed her hands flat against Kate's biceps. The younger woman collapsed into her arms and sunk in for a long, motherly hug. "I don't know what to do," she said, just barely above a whisper.

"I know, and unfortunately only you can make the decision you need to when it comes down to it. But, whatever happens I just want you to be happy." Theresa stroked her back gently and gave her a tighter squeeze.

"I know."

Before she had another moment to think, the sounds of boots clomping against the front porch of the office could be heard and Kate gasped. She wrenched herself from Theresa's embrace and scurried towards the kitchen. "That's Rick—I can't talk to him right now. Get rid of him please?"

Theresa opened her mouth to protest, but once Kate disappeared into the other room she shook her head and gave up. A few seconds later Rick stepped into the office, black ice skates dangling from his hand. "Did Kate come back here?"

"She did, but she had to walk out to the mill for something." Theresa lied quickly.

"Oh…do you think she'll be long?"

She stepped forward and took the skates from him. "She may be…I don't know, but there's no need for you to wait. You'll see her at the house tonight, right?"

"Right…" he said, staring distantly towards the desk at the back of the office where Kate usually sat.

"Don't worry, dear," Theresa said, as she stepped up closer to Rick in an attempt to crowd him towards the door. "Things are going to work out; I know it."

Rick gave her a momentarily curious look and she winked at him before patting his shoulder as a way of saying goodbye. Still perplexed, he stepped towards the door of his office but then froze when he remembered. He dipped his hands into his coat pocket and pulled out a pair of gloves. "She left these by the lake. Would you…?"

"Of course." Theresa smiled and accepted the gloves. "Have a nice day, dear!"

"I…yeah, you too." Rick stepped out the door, walked over to his vehicle, got inside and sat with the keys hanging limply in his hands. He stared absent-mindedly out the windshield and contemplated the prior hour in his mind. The ice skating plan had been a good idea—a great idea—until its disastrous end. But… Kate had kissed him and that was interesting.

When Rick realized his feelings for the beautiful yet tragically unavailable woman he tried to move past them, brush them off as just a crush. Yet, with every attempt to move on, with every attempt to convince himself his feelings were merely a manifestation of their close quarters and his loneliness, he seemed to only succeed in intensifying everything he felt. Which was just…perfect—or it would have been had the doctor boyfriend not existed and been more perfect.

Rick's history with women was complicated at best. Having been raised by a single mother, he considered himself more in tune with women than most men his age starting in middle school with his first real girlfriend. Girls in school were always complimenting his kindness, sensitivity, and big heart. While that was great he somehow always managed to pick the wrong women to date; he always managed to pick the ones that broke his heart.

Beginning in college, things became a bit harder when he published his first novel and it became a moderate success. Then, after one near disaster of a short-term girlfriend, he began to realize that women might be after him for his success and—unfortunately—his money rather than for him. This led him to be a bit more cautious…until he met Meredith and fell harder than an anvil dropped from the top of a thirty story building.

Unfortunately, with Meredith he'd fallen back into his old ways and had fallen in love with the wrong type of woman. Sure, on the surface she was great: fun, dynamic, always making him laugh. Deep down, though, she wasn't right for him and he sadly did not discover that until after their daughter was born.

As Rick left for his basic training before his divorced was finalized, he had not yet moved on to dating anyone new. His leaves from the army were so short and sporadic that it made finding a relationship difficult. A few times he'd find a nice lady and they'd go on a few dates, but every time the woman opted not to continue their relationship rather than have a long-distance one from the start.

This was why Rick was hesitant about his feelings for Kate at first as she was one of the only women he'd been close to in nearly seven years. He tried to tell himself that had he moved in with any family, he would have developed the same feelings, but the more time passed he knew that wasn't the case for Kate wasn't just any woman. She was beautiful and strong and brave and she didn't even know it. She was…incredible and when she kissed him there was no doubt in his mind how he felt about her.

For perhaps only the third time in his life, Rick was falling in love.

* * *

Much later that evening, after spending the afternoon at the tree stand where only three additional trees but at least a dozen ornaments were sold, Rick stood in the kitchen of the Beckett residence putting the finishing touches on the dinner he was making. Though Jim assured him his assistance with the Christmas trees was enough to earn his keep, Rick still insisted on making a few meals for the Becketts. In his mind, it just wasn't right not to help.

Upon hearing the front door shut, Rick felt a small wave of nerves flutter through his stomach. This would be his first interaction with Kate since their kiss and he honestly was not sure how it would go. He only hoped things weren't too awkward.

"Where's my dad?" she asked when she stepped in the kitchen.

"Shower. Dinner will be ready soon."

She nodded and scanned her eyes over the counter to see what he was preparing; it appeared to be meatloaf with a mix of vegetables. As her gaze drifted to the table, which was set with plates and flatware, she took note of a centerpiece she didn't recognize. She did not believe the tall cylindrical vase was one they owned, but it was filled with holly berry sprigs and fir branches. "What's this?"

Rick turned to see her gesturing towards the center of the table. "Oh. At the tree lot a kid knocked into one of those decorative wreaths your aunt made and the whole thing like…exploded. I gathered up all the pieces but your aunt said it wasn't worth it to put it back together so if figured why waste it, you know?"

Kate almost laughed. "Did you live another life as a florist?"

"What? Oh no…Theresa helped. Okay she basically did it for me." He added at her skeptical eyebrow raise. Nodding to him, her face relaxed and she walked over to the vase. Skimming her fingertip delicately over the rim she smiled and Rick's heart clenched.

"Why don't, ah, why don't you sit down. I can get you some wine…"

Kate snatched her hand back as though she had inadvertently touched a burning candle. Drinking wine alone with Rick? That sounded like a terrible idea. "Thanks, but ah I'm not really hungry at the moment. Maybe I'll eat something later."

Rick's brow furrowed as she turned to leave. That was rather…abrupt. She had one foot out of the kitchen before he asked, "Are you okay?"

She replied without looking at him. "Fine."

"Kate."

That time she turned and peeked at him through the curtain of her hair. "What?"

Rick took a deep breath and clasped his hands together. His next question would either end wonderfully or terribly; there was no in between. "Are we okay?"

For a solid fifteen seconds she held his gaze and didn't answer. If he was not mistaken, she also held her breath until finally she shrugged. "Why wouldn't we be?" With that, she disappeared down the hall leading to her bedroom.

Turning back to the stove, Rick let out a huff. Well, that hadn't gone as he planned, though really what had he expected? Her to throw him out of the house four days before Christmas? Or confess her true feelings for him then and there? It appeared she was taking an unanticipated third route: ignoring the kiss all together. Well, he supposed he could handle that—for now.

* * *

 _A/N: 2 more days until Christmas! days...chapters...it's all the same :)_


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

The following morning, Rick awoke hoping that overnight Kate would have had a change of heart and would be open to the idea of discussing the fact that they had kissed—twice, if they wanted to get technical about it. On his way to the kitchen, he passed her bedroom and found the door open and the light off, meaning she was already up and about. He expected to see her in the kitchen, but there he only found Jim sipping on coffee with that day's newspaper spread out on the table before him.

"Good morning. Is…Kate here?"

Jim shook his head. "She got up early and left already."

"Oh." So much for talking. With a sigh, Rick grabbed a mug for coffee and after taking a sip turned to the refrigerator to pull out the carton of eggs. He set four on the counter, returned the carton, and then returned to the stove to grab a skillet.

Ten minutes later he sat across from Jim with his plate of eggs and toast. "So how's your shoulder feeling?"

Jim looked up to him and offered a nod. "Much better actually. I think the dislocation has finally more or less healed. Though, I believe you'll discover as you get older: the closer you are to sixty, the harder it is for joints to heal."

Rick smiled. "I'll keep that in mind. And your elbow?"

Jim's expression faded into uncertainty. "That one still gets me from time to time. Have a checkup with the doctor after Christmas and I have a feeling I'll be in the splint for the full six weeks."

"Well hopefully not."

Jim drained his coffee mug and set it aside. He folded up his newspaper and placed it beside the empty mug. Then, resting his good arm across the table he began, "Rick I'm actually glad we have a minute to chat."

"Oh?"

"I really cannot thank you enough for all that you've done the past few weeks."

He smiled. In no way was helping at a Christmas tree lot and a mill what he thought he would be doing that holiday season, but he had absolutely no complaints about it. "It was my pleasure."

"Still, I wanted to…settle up so to speak."

Rick's brow wrinkled. He hated to think that Jim or, really, any members of the extended Beckett family thought he would feel that they even needed to settle up. "You don't owe me anything. If anything I owe you for letting me stay here."

"In exchange for everything you did for us?" Jim shook his head. "That was nothing. The truth is, Rick, it's been a tough year. We were barely scraping by with all the competition from the big corporate mills—not that we even do much milling in the country anymore. I feared we were in for a difficult Christmas season…"

Rick nodded to this, though the comments did not surprise him in the least. He'd overheard enough at the holiday party the prior weekend to give him the hint that the mill business was not booming. Even without those snippets of conversation he would not have been surprised. Before meeting the Beckett family, Rick doubted he would have given mill processing a second thought, particularly with the US importing so many goods from overseas.

"…but then you showed up and made everything a little bit happier, especially Katie."

Rick bobbed his head at the mention of the gorgeous woman who had consumed so many of his thoughts during his duration in Hinsdale. "She's extraordinary."

"I like to think so. I haven't seen her with this much joy around the holidays since her mother died and I'd like to think that at least in part has to do with you."

Rick took a moment to consider the older man's comments. Was it possible that Jim suspected his daughter had romantic feelings for Rick? Or, did he think they were just friends—two people who shared common experiences and thusly bonded? Rick wasn't sure; the man was too difficult to read.

"I care about her very much, believe me. And you're completely right—this has been a holiday to remember. And, if there's anything I can ever do for you…"

Jim chuckled. "I don't think I can rightly ask any more of you, Rick."

"I'm volunteering."

Jim hummed and skimmed his left hand over his jaw. "Well…If you have any pull with Santa, tell him I'd really like that loan I asked for."

Rick offered a smile and nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

Kate sat in the center of her bed with her legs folded meditation-style beneath her. She clasped her hands in her lap, shut her eyes, and took a deep breath attempting to clear her mind.

For the prior twenty-eight hours she had done nothing but think about her kiss with the handsome man currently residing in the bedroom beside hers. By that point her thoughts had turned to near obsession, which did not aid in finding clarity in the least. Simply put: she was more confused than ever.

After wrestling with her emotions she had determined that, yes, she had feelings for Rick. Some type of feelings, anyway. She hoped those feelings were simply a manifestation of her appreciation for his assistance and the close proximity in which they presently existed. She anticipated that once he left their home after Christmas, her feelings would eventually fade away. The problem was: she wasn't sure she actually wanted him to leave.

Taking in one more deep breath and pushing it out her nostrils, Kate snagged her cell phone from where it rested on the mattress beside her knee. She unlocked the phone and pressed the call button next to Josh's name in her contact list. If she was being honest, she was not extremely excited for their pre-scheduled phone date. Her feelings for Rick were muddled enough without trying to think about how she felt about Josh too. She loved Josh, she did, but their separation certainly was stressing that love to its thinnest.

Their conversation began with their usual greetings and briefings about their days since they'd parted. Kate chose to leave the part about kissing Rick out of her summary. If she was going to tell Josh—which she had not yet decided that she was—that was a conversation that needed had in person.

"Yeah so bit of bad news…I'm actually not going to be able to drive out on the twenty-fourth like we had planned."

Kate nearly dropped her phone. "What? What do you mean?"

"Ah well something's come up at the hospital. Said I'd do the double shift on Christmas Eve night and Christmas day…"

"Why?"

"Well, you know, they needed someone."

"And you didn't tell them you had plans? It is Christmas, Josh."

"I know, I know and I feel bad, but you'll see me the day after—what's the difference?"

Kate practically growled into the phone. "The difference is that you agreed to spend Christmas with me and my father. Do you know how long it's been since we spent Christmas day together?"

He sighed. "I know, but it's just one day. Plus I'm totally going to make it up to you."

This lessened her anger slightly. "Yeah? How?"

He chuckled. "It's a surprise, Kate, but you're going to love it—and it's definitely going to make you want to move to Boston."

Oh great—this again. Kate's patience was beyond wearing thin with his absolute refusal to consider the fact that she did not actually want to move. "Josh, I've told you a hundred times: I don't want to go to Boston."

"Kate, c'mon. You don't want to be stuck in that one-horse town forever."

She ignored his dig at her hometown in light of the larger issue. "My family is here; my father's business."

Josh mumbled something into the phone that she did not quite catch, but it sounded suspiciously like, "Your father's dying business."

"What was that?"

She could hear him huff out a breath on the other end of the line. "Kate, c'mon. You have to see the writings on the wall."

Kate shut her eyes and took a deep breath. She just could not understand why he refused to be supportive towards her and her father's efforts to save the mill. Josh had taken the "just cut your losses and close" stance almost immediately and never budged. Though she never said anything previously in light of everything else that particular opinion singed quite a bit. "No, Josh, I don't."

"Look we'll talk about it in person on Saturday and-"

"No." Kate felt it, the tether snap. She just…couldn't. Not anymore. It was too hard. Considering during their four year relationship they had only spent seven consecutive days together twice what kind of relationship did they have anyway? It was weekends and days caught here and there in between his traveling and her work schedule. At first, it seemed fun and exciting; it made them appreciate the little time they actually spent together. But now, four years later, it was nothing more than a chore.

Earlier that month during a conversation with Rick, she had said that the time was coming for a decision to be made. They could not move forward separately. She did not want to move to Boston. Despite her efforts to suggest he apply for a job at the hospital in Brattleboro, it was clear Josh did not want to move to be near her. Thus, they were at an impasse.

"What?"

"No. I…I don't want you coming at all." Kate felt her stomach flip in her gut as she said the words, but she knew they were the right ones; this was a decision she had to make.

Josh's voice was quieter when he spoke next. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means…this is over."

"Kate."

She shook her head as a few tears began to prick her eyes. "No. I just…I can't do it anymore. The distance and separation haven't been working for a while but it's not just that. You don't…you don't support me Josh. I feel like everything in our relationship is about you. You're so focused on me moving to Boston but I just…don't want to."

"So you're breaking up with me. _You're_ breaking up with _me_."

The fact that he sounded disgusted the situation was not the other way around only confirmed Kate's decision. "Yeah I am."

He made a sound of disgust. "That's just great, Kate, just great. Have a merry Christmas."

Then line went dead and Kate slowly lowered the phone from her ear and set it on the bed in front of her. She took a few deep breaths as the tears began to fall. She did it; it was over.

She knew in the coming days she would more than likely second guess her decision, perhaps even wish she'd waited until after Christmas when she and Josh were together again and they could talk it out, but even if she had she knew the result would not be different. He had been trying to get her to move to Boston for almost two years and that, ultimately, was the reason why their relationship could not continue. Still, she spent four years of her life as Josh's girlfriend, and she knew it would take more than just a day to get over that.

* * *

 _A/N: Tomorrow is Christmas Eve! What's going to happen!? I have no idea_

 _...wait - yes I do! :)_


	14. Chapter 13

_A/N: Merry Christmas Eve! As some of you have commented, we have now taken a complete detour from the movie, but I still highly recommend watching it if you haven't!_

* * *

 **Chapter 13**

When Rick arrived at the tree lot on Christmas Eve morning the emotion forefront in his mind was not joy or excitement for the impending holiday. Instead, he merely felt discouraged and possibly even a little disappointed. Overall, his December had been fascinating, a refreshing change of pace and quite possibly even a little bit life altering. It was a shame his time in Hinsdale had to end on such a bittersweet note.

The prior day, Rick had not seen Kate at all. When he got up, she had already left for work. He spent the entire day at the tree lot and, upon arriving back at the Beckett residence, was informed by Jim that Kate would not be joining them for dinner. When she did return home shortly after eight that evening, she went directly to her room.

Considering he had seen her during at least one meal a day for the prior nineteen days by this behavior he could only conclude that she was purposely avoiding him. To him, this meant that she did not want to discuss their kiss because she wished it hadn't happened; that it was a mistake. That being the case, he made the decision to accept her choice and move on. As he had heard earlier in the week that Josh would be returning on Christmas Eve, Rick had planned on making his exit early in the day, but when Jim asked if he could stay until noon, he agreed.

While unlocking the gates to the lot and the door to the sales hut, Rick was dusted in a light falling snow. At that point in the day, the temperature was an almost mild thirty-six, but during his drive that morning he heard a weather report that said the temperature would begin to drop during the day as a storm was blowing in, which would coat the area in several inches of snow. While the morning talk show hosts chatted happily about a white Christmas, Ricks thoughts concentrated on hoping the snow would be kept at bay long enough for him to make the drive to Manhattan that afternoon.

As he settled onto the stool in the sales hut with the Patterson book he'd been reading, Rick's thought were not on the murder mystery the infamous writer had created, but on Kate. As she was completely avoiding him, she was really making it difficult to say goodbye to her. He had a Christmas card and gift for her that would say what he needed, but that wasn't the same as getting to see her in person—getting to see her smile if for only one more time.

Almost as if Santa himself had heard Rick's wishes, the car that pulled into the tree lot not ten minutes later was none other than Kate's. Rick set his book aside and stepped out of the sales hut just in time to see her hauling a clear plastic container in his direction.

"Hey," he began with notable surprise. "Haven't seen much of you lately."

She offered a gentle smile and a shrug. "Well you know…busy time and I had to do some shopping."

"Sure."

Gesturing with the container she held she said, "Aunt Theresa wanted me to make sure the ornaments were stocked."

"Right. Of course. So, um, does anyone really buy a tree on Christmas Eve?" he asked as he watched her review inventory.

She scrunched her nose. "No. Not really. We might sell one or two. We typically sell a bunch of ornaments, though–last minute gifts."

"Ah, right."

She added a few hanging wooden creations to the wall before snapping the lid back on the container and hoisting it under her arm. "Sorry it'll be a bit of a boring morning for you."

Rick shrugged. "That's okay; I don't mind."

"Rob said he's switching with you at noon, right?"

"Yep."

"Okay good." With that, she offered a smile and carried the bin back to her car. He followed her.

"Ah, Kate?"

She shoved the bin in the back seat of her Jeep before turning, her keys dangling from her left hand. "Yeah?"

Rick walked over and stopped just a few feet from her. He scuffed his foot against the pavement and slid his hands into his coat pocket. Now that the moment had come, suddenly all the things he'd wanted to say vanished into the chilled air. "Just in case I forget to say it: thanks for all your help with the tree lot stuff…"

She offered a confused smile as she passed the keys back and forth between her left and right hands. "Pretty sure I'm the one that should be thanking you, Rick."

"But I mean for putting up with my…never learning all the different types of firs. Despite that it's been a really good experience."

She tilted her head to the side as though he did not quite understand why he was telling her these things. Then, shrugging, she said, "I'm glad. Sorry, I really should be getting to the mill…"

"Right of course. I'll…" His voice faded out when she hopped into her car and turned over the engine. So much for saying goodbye. He stepped out of the way so she could back out onto the main road. She offered a quick wave before disappearing around the corner at the next intersection.

With heavy heart Rick returned to the sales hut. Maybe it was best to let the words in his card be the final thing she heard from him. They were, after all, well organized and everything he wanted to say. He'd always been better with written communication than verbal anyway. Still, the thought of never seeing her again made him sad, but it was for the best. Clearly, she had made her choice.

* * *

Shortly after six p.m. on Christmas Eve Kate pulled into the garage of her father's home. He trip back from the mill had taken nearly twice the time it normally did. With the heavy snow, she had to be sure to go slow when coming down the mountain roads lest she hit a slippery spot and careen off into the wilderness as many cars did every year. She stepped out of the car and immediately into a pile of dirt covered snow sludge that dropped from the bottom of her vehicle. She grimaced and shook the globs from her boot before entering the house.

Just inside the door, she stopped. The entire house was dark save the small nightlight always lit in the kitchen. That was odd. As far as she was aware once Rick was done at the tree lot at noon he had no other obligations. She knew he wasn't at the mill because she had just come from there. Strange.

"Rick?" she called out, walking back the hall towards the bedrooms, but it was clear all three rooms were dark with no occupants.

Her brow wrinkling, she shed her coat and boots by the door and walked into the kitchen. She flicked on the light and stopped by the refrigerator as a wrapped package on the center of the table caught her eye. Curious, she approached and spotted a box approximately the size of two decks of cards wrapped in red foil wrapping paper tied in a white bow. At the foot of the present was an envelope propped up against the bow. Across the front her name was written in handwriting she recognized to be Rick's. Beside the card and envelope sat a second envelope, though that one was addressed to her father.

Kate rested her hands on the back of one of the kitchen chairs as she gazed down at the gifts. If Rick had left presents for her and her father on the kitchen table and not under the tree, did that mean he had gone? He didn't say anything about leaving and, as far as she was aware, her father hadn't mentioned it either. In fact, she recalled her father mentioning the prior day that Rick agreed to their traditional Christmas Eve dinner of tomato soup and grilled cheese. But why would Rick leave without saying goodbye?

Her brow wrinkling, Kate reached out her hand and picked up the wrapped box. In doing so, she felt something shift inside, which piqued her curiosity. With precision, she slid the white ribbon off the end of the box and popped the tape off one end so the wrapping paper could be neatly removed. The white box fell open in her hand to reveal a wooden Christmas ornament.

"Oh." She exhaled as she gazed down at it. She picked up the ornament by its string and cradled it in her palm to observe. The wooden rectangle was painted emerald green and had the gold letters PEACE written in the top right corner. Starting in the bottom left corner, two thirds of the ornament was overtaken by a wooden dove carved out, painted white, and glued atop the emerald base.

As Kate stared down at it, a memory began echoing in the depths of her mind. The skin on the back of her neck prickled and she brushed her thumb over the dove. That image…it was so familiar, but where had she seen it? She glanced to her left to look at that year's Christmas cards taped to the refrigerator, but none of them matched the ornament she held.

Now even more curious, she picked up the envelope addressed to her and flipped it over. The back was not sealed as the envelope was stuffed full with not just one card, but two. Kate slid both cards out and gasped at what she saw.

The first card she removed from the envelope was the ornament's twin. Emerald background, white dove, the word "Peace." She only spotted two differences. One: the card also contained the word "Joy." And two: the card appeared much more worn and frayed with a large crease down the center.

As soon as she saw the card she remembered: the cards from Operation Christmas Cheer the prior year. They all had doves unlike that year's cards, which had snowflake themes. Just as she was wondering how any of this was possible, the creased card separated enough for her to see inside and she gasped for the second time.

The card was not just any ordinary one from the set, but the first one she had sent out; the one with the message. The _only_ one with the heartfelt message she had written.

"Oh god."

Her brain began to spin. How was this possible? How had the card returned to her? Rick…how had he…

Her hands now trembling, she shuffled the cards she held so the second one from the envelope was on top. In doing so, she discovered it wasn't really a card at all, but a plain piece of paper folded in quarters. She pulled at the corners and allowed the page to open fully before she began to read.

 _Kate,_

 _One year ago I received a rather remarkable card through the army's Christmas mail delivery. You see, many people like yourself send cards to soldiers that aren't addressed to anyone in specific; those cards are distributed at random and, by some miracle, I received yours._

 _Like you, I spent many years loving Christmas, but after my daughter died I couldn't bring myself to celebrate. Your note struck me and I realized you were right. Alexis wouldn't want me to stop my life or to stop celebrating holidays just because I couldn't share them with her so I resolved to have a different attitude, difficult as it was._

 _I carried this card with me as a reminder to keep living and it helped me in more ways than you could ever know. That's why I came to Hinsdale three weeks ago—to find and thank the woman that had given my life back to me. When we first ran into each other that day, I didn't realize who you were, but I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. Then, that car almost hit your father and things became more complicated._

 _I tried to tell you a few times—I wanted to—but I couldn't find the words. Ironic, given my previous profession. The more time went on I just didn't know what to say. I was afraid you'd be upset with me and I didn't want that because I was falling in love with you._

 _You, Kate, are strong and beautiful and extraordinary. You have so much joy and love to give and I hope you can follow your own advice. Don't keep it inside. Let it out. Find happiness. I want you to find happiness, Kate, no matter where you find it._

 _Please know that I'll never forget you, your family, or what you all have done for me._

 _I love you._

 _Rick_

She read the letter twice before the tears began streaming down her face. Oh god. Oh god. How could this be happening?

"Katie?"

Her father's voice pulled her from her entranced stare. She lifted her eyes from the letter and found herself face to face with her father, aunt, and uncle. Evidently they had entered the house without her hearing and were now clustered around the kitchen with concerned expressions. "Oh my god, Dad!"

Jim stepped forward, his brow wrinkled. "Is something wrong? Did something happen?"

She shook her head then nodded. Sniffing back tears she said, "Rick…I think he left."

"He did leave."

"What!?"

Jim bobbed his head. "A few hours ago, I'd imagine. When Rob and I relieved him at the tree lot at noon he said he was going back to the house to grab his things and then he was going home. I invited him to stay for dinner but he…Why? What's happened?"

Kate held up the letter and card with trembling fingers. "He left me this…"

Theresa stepped forward and took the year old card from her hands. "I thought that ornament looked familiar…"

"The ornament?" Kate squeaked, her eyes daring towards the item in question still sitting on the table. "You…you helped him?"

Theresa nodded before opening the card and gazing wide-eyed at the message. "Did he…did he get one of our cards last year?"

"Apparently. And then he…he…he wrote this note and he—he said that he loves me."

Kate searched the eyes of her father and aunt for several moments until Rob concluded, "Well I don't think anyone's surprised by that."

"Rob!" Theresa hissed in a 'you're not helping' tone.

Jim took the card from his sister and examined it for several moments before saying, "I don't understand. He got one of these cards and came to…to find us?"

"Kind of, yes. I don't know. Here." Kate snatched the card addressed to her father from the table and passed it to him. After grabbing a napkin to mop up her cheeks she said, "Open yours. Maybe he explains in there."

Jim popped open the flap on the envelope and pulled out a folded plain sheet of paper similar to the one in Kate's. He opened it and the creases in his brow deepened. "All it says is "Merry Christmas from Santa." I don't…" His voice drifted off when he realized something else was in the envelope. He plucked the smaller item out with his index finger and thumb and gasped at what he found.

"What?" the other three occupants of the room asked immediately.

"It's a fifteen thousand dollar check…"

"What? How in the world…?" Theresa proclaimed, staring between her husband and brother.

Kate shook her head and walked backwards until her hips bumped the counter; she leaned on it for support. "Oh my god…"

"Katie?"

She shook her head as a few fresh tears fell. "Rick he…before he was in the army he was an author—using a pen name I think. I have his books in my room."

"He gave them to you?" Theresa asked with notable confusion.

She shook her head. "No, no. I've always had them it was just…coincidence."

"One hell of a coincidence," Rob added.

After taking two quick deep breaths Kate pushed herself from the counter and walked towards the exit of the kitchen. "I have to find him." Kate had absolutely no idea what was going on; so much had happened in the prior ten minutes her brain had not yet had a chance to process all the pieces and understand how they fit together, but one thing was clear: she absolutely needed to talk to Rick—in person.

She was five feet from the garage when her father stopped her. "Katie, wait. Hold on now. It's a blizzard out there. You can't just leave…"

She spun around and gazed at her family. "But I have to talk to him! Did he leave contact information with any of you?"

After a beat, her uncle raised his hand as though a child would when confessing to a prank played in class. "I have his phone number."

His wife immediately smacked his chest and he recoiled. "What was that for?!"

"Why didn't you say anything!"

He balked. "Well…I didn't know what was going on…what is going on!?"

Before anyone answered, Kate stalked up to him with her hand outstretched. Rob dug into his pocket to retrieve his wallet and pulled from hit a crumpled piece of paper. Kate snatched it and hurried over to her jacket to retrieve her phone.

"I think…well, I'm pretty sure," Theresa began in a low hiss to her husband, "that Katie is in love with Rick too." Rob nodded as the three older adults watched the pacing young woman with the phone clutched to her ear.

Kate's stomach churned when the call connected to voicemail. She stopped pacing and tapped her foot impatiently against the ground as the cheerful greeting played; it seemed to mock her. The millisecond after the beeping tone, she began, "Rick. It's Kate. I don't know where you are but please call me back! Please. I need to talk to you."

She pulled the phone away from her ear reluctantly and ended the call. Snagging her bottom lip between her teeth, she turned back to her family. Jim approached and pulled her into a one-armed hug. "He'll call you back." Jim promised. "I'm sure of it."

* * *

 _A/n: tomorrow's chapter will be posted approx around 8 am east coast time._


	15. Chapter 14

_A/N: This is my Christmas gift to you, all my readers thank you so much for all your favorites, follows, reviews. I appreciate each and every one of them._

* * *

 **Chapter Fourteen**

Kate awoke with a start on Christmas morning and immediately groaned. Late on Christmas Eve she had draped herself in a blanket and sat on the couch determined to stay awake in the hopes that Rick would call. With her phone on full volume, she could have easily gone to bed and awoken when it rang (she was a light sleeper) but for some reason she was determined to stay awake. Of course, she did end up succumbing to sleep, though she wasn't sure at what time.

Grumbling and rubbing her neck, which was sore from being propped crookedly against the back of the sofa, she glanced down at her lap and felt her heart stop. Where was her phone!? She frantically dug through the blanket, but didn't find it. Just as she was about to stand up and take apart the couch cushions, she spotted it on the floor. Evidently it had fallen and she assumed the noise of it landing on the rug was what had awoken her.

She scooped up the device and tapped the home button to turn on the screen. It was seven fifteen on Christmas morning and she had no missed calls. That was…disappointing. Kate stroked the case of her phone with her index finger as she allowed that emotion to settle over her.

As she sat on the couch waiting for Rick to call her back, she began to process all the information she had learned that Christmas Eve night. One year earlier, Rick had received her Christmas card while stationed overseas. That card had helped him to finally move past the devastating loss of his daughter. Three weeks earlier, he had arrived in Hinsdale presumably to thank her, the card sender, and instead ended up saving her father from a horrific accident. Then, in the weeks leading up to Christmas, he had—in his own words—fallen in love with her.

Such a tale seemed highly improbable, yet there it was; all the pieces of proof were almost literally at her fingertips. Kate had hoped that given all that happened, Rick would definitely want to call her back so they could talk about things, but yet he hadn't. If she knew he was going to visit family she could have explained it away with him being busy, but to her knowledge he was returning to an empty home in New York.

Just as she was beginning to wonder if she'd somehow missed her chance to have an open, honest conversation with him, a peculiar sound outside drew her attention. It sounded like…shoveling. It had, of course, snowed the night before, but which of her neighbors was up that early shoveling on Christmas morning? It was barely light outside!

Kate climbed out of her blanket cocoon and walked to the front window where she discovered someone was in _her_ driveway shoveling snow. The figure wore a large blue puffy coat with the hood pulled up and thus was complexly unidentifiable from her angle. What she did see, however, was a black Jeep Cherokee parked just in front of their mailbox; it was Rick's vehicle.

She practically levitated as she hurried to the door to grab her boots. She shoved them on while running towards the front door. In her haste, she left the house wearing nothing but the boots and her red flannel pajamas.

Kate ran down the front walk, which was difficult given the ten inches of snow the prior night's storm had left behind, and skidded her way onto the driveway. "Rick!" she called out giving him just enough time to look up before she barreled in to him, locking her arms around his neck.

"Merry Christmas to you, too." He chuckled as his arms wound around her body. At his action, her grip only grew tighter.

After a minute, she pulled back and he saw that she was wearing the brightest most joy-filled smile he had ever seen in his entire life; it made his chest constrict with emotions. He brought a gloved hand up to cup the side of her jaw and she lifted her hand to grip onto his.

"Rick." The moment she saw him she knew. All of her uncertainties faded away in an instant as she was overwhelmed with a barrage of emotions: joy, excitement, nervousness, and, largest of all, love. Unable to contain it any longer, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his. His reaction was immediate; he pulled her tighter and skimmed his thumb against her lower jaw, humming out a contented nose.

When she pulled back, she grazed her index finger down his cheek before saying, "I love you, too."

His eyes flared wide momentarily before they relaxed with his smile. "You're supposed to wait until Christmas morning to open your gifts."

She laughed happily and gave him another quick kiss. "Why didn't you call me back?"

"Didn't get your message 'til early this morning—very early this morning. I wasn't that far away and this sounded kind of like an in-person conversation. Is that okay?"

She nodded and said, "Very okay," though the words came out muddled as she just then noticed her teeth beginning to chatter. Damn, it was a bit chilly outside, wasn't it?

Rick's reaction to her shivers was instant. "Jesus Kate you must be freezing. Why don't we go inside?"

She nodded and trudged back through the snow towards the front of the house. He followed and set his shovel against the house by the front door before ducking inside. "My god it's probably only fifteen degrees out there. What were you thinking crazy lady?!" As Kate offered a small smile while hugging her body in a fruitless attempt to stay warm, Rick swiftly unzipped his coat, shrugged it off and draped it around her shoulders. Once she was enveloped by its warmth, he rubbed his hands up and down her arms to aid in the thawing process.

It took a few minutes for her teeth to stop chattering, but once they did, he asked, "So, ah, you got my card?

"Oh god, Rick; the card!"

He pressed his lips together and dropped his chin slightly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I tried, but I wasn't sure what to say and the longer it went on I was afraid you'd think I was creepy…"

She couldn't help but laugh at this opinion. She raised her hand and pressed her palm flat against his cheek. He hissed and quickly covered her hand with his. "Your hands are freezing."

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

"I, ah, I don't think you're creepy; not even close. I just…I can't believe it." She stared up into his eyes amazed, astounded. She could feel the pricks of tears returning and shook her head. "I can't believe you're here." She spoke not of just that moment on Christmas morning, but of the larger forces at work that brought her card to him and subsequently him to her. Though her voice was just barely above a whisper, he heard it and leaned down to capture her lips in a warm kiss.

Rick held Kate closely and took in a long, deep breath, feeling just as amazed as she sounded. He'd gone to bed the night before almost immediately after arriving at the motel, not bothering to eat any more than a pack of crackers as a makeshift dinner. He had been prepared to have one of his worst Christmases to date, but then when he heard her pleading message his hope was restored. Now, with her in his arms he wished more than anything they would be able to celebrate their first Christmas of many together, but one major issue needed cleared up first.

"So, ah, at the risk of making things awkward: what about Josh?"

She gave a gentle head shake. "I broke up with him three days ago."

Rick's jaw dropped. "Wha—but you never said anything!"

She snagged her bottom lip with her teeth. "Well I was still trying to sort out my feelings—I didn't think you'd leave before Christmas!"

He couldn't help but smile and pull her in a bit tighter. "And…now you've sorted them?"

"Mmhmm." She hummed.

"And?"

Locking gazes with him, she spoke without hesitation. "I love you; I want to be with you."

"Just making sure." He winked before kissing her. Then, he took a step back and turned towards the front door. "I, ah, should go finish the driveway."

She grabbed his arm before he could take a step away. "No don't. Leave it—it's Christmas morning. Who cares? Why don't you come lay down with me? No one else will be up for at least an hour." She shrugged off his coat and tossed it on the back of the couch before backing her way towards the hallway, her hands still locked around his arm.

He followed, tough with a small amount of reluctance. "Who all's here?"

"Just my aunt and uncle. C'mon I'm still freezing!" Kate led the way in silence back to her bedroom before pulling him inside and shutting the door behind them.

As Rick had yet to be inside her bedroom, he took a moment to gaze around. The soft pink walls held large dark rectangles shadows, presumably where posters hung during her youth. Now, black and white photos of lakes and the forest during winter adorned the spaces. Her furniture was all matching white wood: a dresser, a desk and chair, and a queen-sized bedframe. After his survey, he looked back to her and she smiled.

"I assume you'll be ok lying down with me?"

Rick hummed. Cuddling with Kate on Christmas morning? That was better than any present he could have imagined. "I think I'll manage."

While she wasted no time sinking beneath the blankets and pulling them all the way up to her chin, Rick took a more delicate approach and leaned on the mattress with one knee. In doing so, his jeans were pulled up so the bottom edge brushed the skin at the top of his socks. He grimaced and looked down at his ankles. "Oh shit these jeans are kind of wet."

"So take 'em off."

He brought his hands to his belt but then paused and asked, "You sure?"

"Rick."

After her grumble, he unfastened the belt and let the jeans drop to the floor. He scooped them up and hung them over the back of the desk chair in hopes that the pant cuffs would soon dry. Then, he slid beneath the covers and spooned himself against her back, letting one arm fall over her waist. She grabbed his arm and pulled him in closer before he settled on his side and pressed a kiss onto the back of her head.

They had only been lying quietly for a few minutes when she asked, "Where'd you go yesterday? You didn't say goodbye…"

He opened his eyes and stared at the open space between her shoulder and cheek. "I, ah, planned to drive back to New York last night; thought it would only take me four or five hours, but I barely drove half an hour before it became an almost white-out. I stopped at the first motel I found just over the state line. And I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye, but I guess I didn't know what to say. You were with Josh and I-"

She pressed her hand over top his and squeezed. "I'm sorry I made you feel that way."

"'sokay. I'm here now right?"

Though his tone was light, Kate continued to think about the prior twenty-four hours and everything she learned. Yes, Rick was there with her and they were definitely at the beginning of something—something good. But considering everything they'd been through, she could not help but think on a grander scale.

"I've been thinking… I've never been the type of person who believes in fate, but seeing as you're here on because of a card I sent a year ago that could have gone to anyone, I can't help but think…"

Rick squeezed her waist. "I know. That card could have gone to anyone—not just anyone in my barracks but anyone in the whole area."

"How'd you get it? Did you choose it?"

"No, one of the guys likened himself Santa Claus and went around tossing cards on peoples beds at random. But what you wrote…to this day I can't explain it, but it struck me. I spent so many years half convinced I'd never love again, but your card made me realize I didn't want to be alone and I needed to try and put myself back out there again. Turns out I only needed to find you."

Feeling tears brimming in her eyes once more, Kate scooted her body forward and rolled onto her back so she could gaze over at him. "I'm a little bit scared."

"Me too."

She flicked her eyes down towards his mid-chest before raising them to meet his once more. "I'm kind of a lot scared."

"Me too."

She shut her eyes tightly and one tear escaped the corner of each eye. Rick leaned in and pressed a kiss on her temple to collect the droplet before it hit her hair line. She leaned her head against his and, with her eyes still closed she sighed. It felt so wonderful to be beside him with his strong arms around her. She wished she could stay there forever, but that wasn't a possibility. Once again she found herself in a relationship with a man whose zip code did not match her own. "I mean…another long distance relationship…"

"Who says it's long distance?"

Her eyes popped open. "You were going back to New York…"

"Because it's the only place I've ever lived, not that I'd decided I was going to stay there forever. I can see myself being a country guy." Rick then laughed at the extremely skeptical look she gave him. "Okay not _country_ , but I could incorporate some plaid into my wardrobe."

She lifted her hand up and brushed her thumb against his chin. "You'd do that?"

In his mind, it wasn't even a question. If being with her meant packing his things and leaving Manhattan behind, he would do it without a second thought. "For you? I'd do anything." With that, he leaned over and covered her mouth with his.

* * *

 _A/N: Your second Christmas gift is that daily chapters are not over! They will continue through Monday and then the final chapters will be posted New Yrs Eve, New Yrs Day, and Jan 2nd._

 _If you celebrate, have a Merry Christmas!_


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen**

Standing at the front window sipping on a steaming mug of coffee, Rob stared out into the snow covered streets. At nine a.m. on Christmas morning the plows on the main streets had yet to come through, but that didn't matter; they weren't going anywhere any time soon. Turning his gaze to the driveway, his brow wrinkled slightly. "Hey Jim?"

"Yeah?"

"Think you had some elves shoveling your driveway last night."

Jim stepped up beside his brother-in-law and gazed out the window. "What?"

"The driveway," Rob said, gesturing with his coffee cup. "Musta been Santa's elves. Though they're lazy little bastards—they only did a little bit then quit!"

"Ah, that's my fault."

Both men turned to see Kate approaching from the hall, a familiar looking man trailing behind her. "Rick!" Jim proclaimed slightly surprised. "Did you show up in the middle of the night?"

"More like shortly after dawn."

"Oh!" Theresa squealed as she hurried in from the kitchen. "It's a Christmas miracle." She rushed over and pulled Kate into a hug before gesturing wildly for Rick to come closer so he could join them. He did so, though a bit awkwardly.

Once Rick was released from Theresa's overzealous hug, Jim stepped up beside him, a humble expression on his face. "Rick, about the money. I really can't accept…"

Rick nodded. He'd debated leaving more of a note with the check to explain why he felt the need to thank the family monetarily, but ultimately decided against it and to merely let the check speak for itself. "You should but if you must…think of it as the loan you wanted."

Jim opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it and shook his head. "How can I ever thank you for everything you've done?"

"Oh I think Katie will take care of that for you," Rob said cheerfully from his spot several feet away. As everyone's jaws dropped, he casually sipped from his coffee mug.

"Robert!"

He shrugged off his wife's scolding and gestured towards his now red-faced niece. "What? She's thirty; she can do what she wants."

Kate grumbled. "Thanks for making Christmas awkward."

"No problem! So are we gonna get this present thing going? Or eat first?"

"Oh," Rick sighed and took a step back from the family. Showing up on Christmas morning was a grand gesture, but it also put him smack in the middle of a family's holiday celebrations—a family he didn't belong to. "I should get out of your hair."

Kate turned, grabbed his arm and looked at him as though he'd suggested brining some of the snow inside to make the atmosphere more festive. "Where do you think you're going?"

He glanced around the room tentatively before looking back to Kate. "It's your family Christmas. I'll just go…finish up the driveway…"

She half laughed. "What is it with you and shoveling?" Without waiting for him to answer, she tugged him forward and reached around to push him lightly towards the seating area. "Sit on the couch. We're opening our stockings before breakfast."

Rob raised his arms above his head in surrender. In a mock serious tone he concluded, "The child has spoken."

While Kate wore a childish grin, Rick merely shrugged. "Hey, I can't judge her; I'm an only child too."

After watching Kate gleefully dig into her Christmas stocking, which contained an ornament, candy, and a few small trinkets from her father, she and Rick agreed to make breakfast for the group. As they would be having a large mid-day meal, they decided to keep breakfast light with eggs and toast and a few strips of bacon thrown in at Rob's request. While navigating the small kitchen space, Rick and Kate continually bumped into each other—most times on purpose, not by accident—and shared smiles and occasionally gentle kisses.

Once breakfast was over, Kate and Rick returned to the living area while the other three adults cleaned up. Rick sat on the couch and she sat beside him, tucking her body against his. They sat that way for several moments before Rick noticed the emerald green Christmas card sitting atop the end table where Kate had left it the night before. He picked it up and cradled it as though it were a precious jewel. He traced his fingertip over the dove as her head came to rest on his shoulder.

"We should do something with this. Frame it or something."

She reached over and placed her hand atop his, letting their fingers lace together. "I like that idea. Then we can keep it somewhere prominent and have it out year-round."

He grunted and placed the card gently back on the table. Their fingers still linked, he leaned back against the sofa thinking quietly for several minutes before saying, "You know I never asked you—what made you get involved with the Christmas card project?"

Kate pushed herself up so that she could look at him. "It was my mom's. She and a few friends started it when they were in high school and when she passed I figured it was one part of her legacy I really didn't want to let go of so I took it over."

He smiled; just another piece of the puzzle that made it even more miraculous that they'd made it there, together. "I'm really glad you did."

Her face mirrored his. "Me too." With that, she leaned in and kissed him.

"Okay you two – enough with the kissing," Rob said gruffly as he walked into the living area. Though Kate separated her lips from Rick's, she made no attempt to move further away from him. "I'm never going to be able to keep my dinner down if you keep this up."

She chuckled. "I'd say we're sorry, but we're not."

Once the family was all congregated again, the regular present exchange took place. Theresa surprised Rick by handing him a lumpy wrapped package that ended up being a sweater. When he asked how she knew he would be there for Christmas, her reply was a simple shrug. "I had a hunch."

Though Rick originally feared it would be awkward to impose on the family's holiday, he quickly found that was not the case. In actuality, he was having a great deal of fun watching them tease each other and toss bits of wrapping paper around. He loved to watch the excitement on Kate's face when her father presented her with the book set she had asked for. Rick took note that none of the gifts were particularly extravagant, but that did not mean the enjoyment factor seemed to be any less.

Once all the wrapping paper was cleared away and Theresa and Rob were in the kitchen checking on the turkey, Kate settled back against Rick's side and he draped an arm over her shoulders. Jim sat down in a chair across from them and said, "Rick, at the risk of imposing on your kindness once again…we do have a tree lot that needs cleaned up."

"Of course I'd be happy to help if I could impose on your hospitality and stay here one more night."

When Jim nodded a thank you, Kate turned her body so she could look up at him. "Just one more night?" she echoed, her tone hinting at disappointment.

"Ah well…yeah. I mean, isn't it getting kind of weird that I'm staying here?"

"No."

"Kate." He laughed. Truly he hadn't minded their arrangement of room and board in exchange for work at the tree lot. It had, after all, brought him closer to Kate, but now that the Christmas season was at an end, it was time for him to stop being a guest in the Beckett's home, particularly now that he and Kate were more than just coworkers.

She nodded reluctantly. "Okay a little weird. I guess I've just become used to having you around."

He stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Well I've enjoyed being around you, too, but, I should get back to the city at some point." He thought for a moment then added, "Why don't you come with me?"

Her eyebrows rose. "With you?"

Rick nodded. The more he thought about it, he wondered why the idea hadn't hit him sooner. He had spent two-and-a-half weeks in her world; it only made sense that she took a stroll through his. "Yeah. Have you ever been to New York?

"No."

"Perfect."

Kate dropped her eyes to her lap and picked at a stray strand of thread on her pajama pants. "Well, my dad…"

"Katie." Jim jumped in without hesitation. "Go."

She glanced at him tentatively. "But if you-"

"I'll be fine. Go."

Biting the inside of her lip, Kate looked back to Rick and found an impossibly hopefully expression on his face; how could she say no to that? "Okay, but I really couldn't go until the thirtieth. I have some things to finish up at the mill."

The thirtieth; Wednesday. Sure, that was better than not coming at all, but… "That's almost a week away."

"I know."

Rick considered their predicament for a moment. After spending so much time with her, not seeing Kate for four days would be a grand disappointment. True, it wasn't an insurmountable amount of time, but perhaps there was a better solution. "How about this: I'll stay tonight _and_ tomorrow if I can take you on a date."

Her expression brightened instantaneously. "A date?"

"Yeah—our first real date."

"Deal!"

After sharing a delicious Christmas meal with the Beckett family, Rick returned to his earlier task of clearing the snow off the driveway. He excused it away by saying he needed to too full to sit down, but really he wanted a few minutes to himself to think. All in all, he'd had a wonderful day. He'd laughed and smiled more than he could remember doing as of late; he was happy. Such happiness—particularly around a holiday such as Christmas—would have been inconceivable even a year prior, but there he was: overjoyed and it was all thanks to Kate.

Though he'd been slightly nervous at first, having spent so many years isolated and alone, his Christmas with the Becketts had confirmed it. Rick was one hundred percent ready to move on, be in a relationship again, have a family again and, most importantly, be in love again—which was good, because he already was.

Back inside, Rob and Theresa packed up their things and said their goodbyes, promising to see everyone at the tree lot the following day. When Kate went into the kitchen to make sure all the leftovers were properly put away, Rick followed and just as she stopped in front of the refrigerator to gaze at him questioningly, he pulled her into his arms and gave her their most heated kiss to date.

When Kate stumbled back a few moments later, breathless, she asked in a weak tone, "I, ah, what was that for?"

"This has been my best Christmas in a really long time."

She smiled and stroked his face with her hand before leaning her forehead against his. "Mine too."

* * *

 _A/N: Thank you to everyone for all your reviews yesterday!_


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter Sixteen**

As Rick quickly discovered the day after Christmas, cleaning up and tearing down the tree lot was the most complicated task to date. It involved removing all the trees, breaking down and removing the wooden barricades which had held them so neatly for twenty-five days, pulling down all the signs and, ultimately, hauling away the newly rebuilt sales hut for storage at the mill. Though Jim insisted he'd be able to help them, Kate refused to let him, meaning their tear-down took a little bit longer as they were down a driver for the large flatbed truck.

Despite all the work, the group worked efficiently and the empty parking lot had been returned to its pre-Christmas state by late afternoon. While her aunt and uncle took a final load of wood back to the mill, Rick and Kate went directly to the Beckett residence to get ready for their date. As they had both worked most of the day, they agreed to an earlier dinner. When they returned to the house, Kate stated that she only needed to change, but Rick, who had helped heave the extremely heavy sales hut up onto a trailer, decided to shower as well.

As he was walking from the bathroom to the guest bedroom with only a yellow fluffy bath towel around his waist, he spotted Kate gazing at him from the doorway of her bedroom just a few feet away. When he caught her, she snagged her bottom lip in her teeth and dipped her eyes towards the ground. "What's that look for?"

"Nothing." She sauntered forward and stopped barely half a foot from him. Tentatively she touched her left index finger to his sternum and, when he didn't pull away, she placed all four fingers on his chest and skimmed down the center of his breastbone. She gazed up at him with a sly smile. Now that they were together she felt no need to hide the fact that she found him incredibly attractive. "Just, uh, thinking it's a shame you can't go to dinner like that."

"But…I'd be so cold."

At his response, she let out a laugh. He winked at her before stepping into his bedroom, but leaving the door open a crack. "I have a question."

"Hmm?"

"When I was driving back here…was it just my imagination or are most of the restaurants in town closed tonight?"

"No, that's right."

Now wearing khaki pants and a white undershirt, Rick opened the door once more to reveal a befuddled expression. "But…it's Saturday night."

"Also the day after Christmas," she said wisely. "That means it's still holiday time for all the family owned restaurants around here. Unless you want McDonald's we'll have to go to Brattleboro for dinner."

"Okay." He agreed while pulling a navy blue sweater on over his head.

At his still confused sounding tone, Kate chuckled and reminded him, "You're not in Manhattan anymore, city boy."

He gave her a side eye. "I know."

"Just as well," she said, linking her arm through his when he stepped out of the bedroom. "There's a really great Italian place in Brattleboro I haven't been to in _ages_. You're okay with Italian right?"

He bobbed his head. "Just tell me how to get there—I'm starving!"

* * *

An hour later they were seated in the corner of the mostly-empty Italian restaurant, which Kate attributed both to the early hour and the fact that it was so close to a holiday. She didn't mind, though. There was no one seated immediately around them, so it made their meal seem more private. Plus, it made the meal service infinitely better.

"So…" Kate began once their main courses had been delivered: lasagna for him and tortellini for her. "I feel like we haven't talked about things."

"What things?"

"Like…you're going back to Manhattan…"

He smiled at her. "And you're coming to visit."

Kate nodded and took a sip of her wine in an attempt to calm the nerves in her stomach. "But I can't stay there; I have to stay here."

Rick set down his fork and dabbed the corner of his mouth with his napkin before reaching for his wine. "I know that. I've been looking online for some places to stay around here. Was hoping for some apartment or something, but there aren't too many listings. Maybe here in Brattleboro—hadn't looked that far yet. Mostly, it's just houses so—what?" He questioned at her wide-eyed stare.

"You can't be serious."

"About what?"

"Looking at houses."

He shrugged. "Why not?"

"It's just..." Kate let out a heavy exhale and pushed herself an inch further from the table. With all the feelings roiling in her gut, her hunger had vanished. She gazed across the table at the man who had given so much to her and her family over the prior few weeks. There he sat, exactly three weeks after meeting her, speaking about finding a house in town as though it were as simple as choosing his meal from the menu at the restaurant. Perhaps, his mention of an apartment alone would not have struck her as strongly, but there was something about a house that seemed so…permanent.

Dozens of potential outcomes to Rick moving to Hinsdale spun through her mind. Yes, he could move there and things could be fine. He could get a job in town or go back to writing. She could continue to work at the mill and they would have dates like that one a few times a week. Or, he would soon realize that compared to his previous home in the big city, Hinsdale was too boring. Yes, perhaps Manhattan was too much for him now, but it was certainly plausible he would prefer a more suburban setting than her small town.

In addition to only knowing each other for three weeks, they had technically only been together for less than forty-eight hours. Yet, there he was, talking about uprooting his life for her and that move becoming something he regretted was her biggest concern. She wanted to be with him, but this was all uncharted territory. "Are we maybe moving too fast? I'm sorry!"

He shook off her quick addition. "Kate there's no reason to apologize for how you feel."

She dropped her hands to her lap and laced her fingers together tightly. "It's just...I've never moved this fast in a relationship before—it's making me a little nervous."

Rick bobbed his head. He could certainly see her point of view; he had never moved so fast in a relationship before either, but as he was one who went with his gut, he had no issue with looking for places to stay. Really, it was the only alternative if he wanted to spend time with her as he could no longer stay in the Beckett home. But he also did not want her to be uncomfortable. "So we'll slow down. No need to rush into anything; there's plenty of time. Maybe it's good I'm leaving tomorrow and we won't see each other for a few days. Take a step back, get some perspective."

She nodded and went to pick up her fork, but paused again. He'd gone back to eating, but she watched him for a minute before saying, "I don't want you to think I changed my mind about loving you."

Rick easily slid his hand across the table palm up and she set hers in it. He squeezed. "I don't."

Kate brushed her thumb over his fingertips, reveling in the warmth she received from them neatly curled around her own. "I realize that we're in a tough spot because if you stay in New York, then we do the long distance thing, but if you want to stay here you need a place to stay that's not my father's guest room."

"Right. Well, like I said let's take a few days and think about it."

"Okay." She agreed before he released her hand so they could go back to eating. She was actually glad to have a few day break from Rick. Though she would miss eating breakfast with him, she knew it was for the best. For the prior twenty-one days they'd been in each other's lives so much it was hard to properly get perspective. Their time apart would be good for that. Besides, it was only a few days and she would be busy, so they would pass quickly.

* * *

"Did you two have a nice dinner?" Jim asked the hand-holding duo when they returned to his home that evening.

"Very." Kate smiled up at her companion; he grinned down at her.

"Glad to hear it. Rick, if you don't mind—I'd like a quick word."

Rick nodded, gave Kate's hand a quick squeeze and then dropped it before following Jim into the kitchen. The older man leaned against the countertop by the stove stroking his still-braced forearm absentmindedly, a look of great concern on his face. Rick half thought he was about to face a "Now that you're dating my daughter…" type speech, but that was not the case.

"I'm sorry I wanted to speak with you earlier but the day just got away from me—I wanted to discuss your generous check. I…I really don't know if I should accept."

Rick shook off the man's concern. "Please. I assume Kate's told you about me being an author. I don't want to toot my own horn too much but I'm in a position where I don't need to worry about money so I don't want you worrying it either." While he understood where Jim was coming from, Rick had written the check without a second thought. His time in the army had taught him to appreciate the simpler things in life—as had losing his daughter. While in his early twenties when money really began coming his way, he had dreams of Ferraris and fancy apartments, but he'd grown up since then and those desires had vanished. Now, he wished to use the money to help others the best he could and helping the Becketts was precisely one of those ways.

"That's nice to hear. It's a relief, certainly, but if things don't work out—whether it be between you and Katie or even with the mill…if we can't recover and then-"

"Jim. Please. It's a gift; no strings attached."

The older man stepped forward, clearly at a loss for words. He shook his head for several moments before saying, "You've given us so much…how can we ever thank you enough?"

Rick offered him a smile. "There's no need; I'm happy to help."

After bidding the elder man goodnight, Rick hung his jacket by the door and walked back the hallway towards the bedrooms. He realized that he'd been so consumed with helping where he could that he had not asked his new girlfriend how she felt about his gift. More so, how she felt about the apparent desperate financial situation of the mill. He hadn't felt right about bringing it up before when still in the "barely not a stranger" category, but things were different now.

Rick paused outside Kate's bedroom door to find her standing in front of her desk unpinning the earrings from her ears. She had already changed into her green flannel pajamas and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. He tapped his knuckles against the doorframe. She looked over at him and smiled. "Hey."

"Hey. May I come in?"

"Of course. What's up? What did my dad want to ask you?

Rick walked in and sat at the end of her bed. "Nothing. He was still uncertain about keeping the check I gave him, but I assured him it was okay. Then I realized I never really asked you how you felt about it—me giving your father he needs to run the mill. Sorry I should have checked with you."

Her brow wrinkled when she sat beside him and tucked one leg underneath her. "Did you think I'd be mad?"

"Well no, not mad but I wasn't sure…"

She shook her head and gazed down at her hands folded in her lap. "Honestly I don't know how I feel about it…about everything. I know if he could have, my dad would have tried to hide it from me—how bad it was, but I do the accounting so I knew. I guess I didn't want it to be real. I just kept thinking we'll pay the next bill and the next…somehow, but our savings just kept getting lower and lower."

She paused for a moment and finally lifted her gaze to meet his. "I had tunnel vision for Christmas—knowing if we had a good tree selling year that'd at least get us through January and February and then…I don't know. I knew losing the mill was a possibility but I didn't want to let it sink in because…then what would we do? I mean, I could get a job somewhere, but my dad…the mill is the only place he's ever worked. Then you came along…you're like our Christmas miracle."

He let out a breathy chuckle, not expecting that declaration. "Oh I don't know about that…"

She slid closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You are. This doesn't seem like enough but: thank you."

"You're very welcome," he replied before giving her two quick kisses. He moved to slide from the bed, but she held him firm, her arms locking him in position. "What are you doing?"

"Stay with me? Please?" she added.

Rick smiled and brought his thumb up to brush her chin. Her request was so soft and innocent he could not have denied her even if he wanted to. He nodded his head and her smile tripled in size. She crawled back towards the head of her bed but when Rick moved to join her, he took note of the alarm clock on her nightstand. "Wait—its eight fifteen, what are we doing?"

"Oh." Kate laughed and looked at the clock to verify his statement. "I guess I didn't realize how early it was. We did have a busy day…"

"We did, but I don't that justifies this early of a bedtime."

"That's fair."

He smiled and kissed her forehead before sliding away. "Let me go get the book I'm reading…"

"Okay—but don't take too long!" she called after him. Then she leaned back against the headboard, silly grin on her face, knowing she'd be smiling the whole night.

* * *

 _A/N: The next update will be on New Year's Eve._

 _(I apologize - I think at one point I said daily chapters would continue through Monday, but I looked at my list wrong.)_


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter Seventeen**

Rick found his first few days back in Manhattan to be initially a bit overwhelming. After bidding a bittersweet goodbye to Kate and Jim, he'd made the drive in decent time, but then quickly found himself alone in his mother's two bedroom apartment. Sunday was busy enough with grocery shopping and doing a thorough cleaning of the apartment, which had collected a surprising amount of dust in his three week absence, but Monday and Tuesday dragged on. He ventured out into the bustling streets a few times, but found himself quickly—and frustratingly—anxious by the noise, smells and people. He knew in time he would acclimate once more, but he would probably need to ease into it.

Kate was due to make the drive to New York on Wednesday after lunch, but was unfortunately delayed by a snowstorm in New Hampshire and subsequent accident on the highway, which left traffic at a near dead stop for almost an hour. Needless to say, when she arrived shortly before eight p.m.—three hours after she was scheduled to be there—she was not in the best of moods. Rick suggested they eat a late dinner and watch TV before going to bed and starting over the next day—New Year's Eve.

When they awoke, Rick asked if she wanted to go to one of his favorite diner's for breakfast to get—quote—"the full New York experience." Having no idea what that meant, she agreed, and he led them to a packed, bustling eatery, where everything with an extra helping of bacon was the standard order. She knew immediately her uncle would be furious with her if she did not partake in the breakfast meat so amply supplied so she did—by splitting a plate with her boyfriend.

With their bellies full, Rick let Kate pick the itinerary for the day as she was the newcomer. He offered suggestions on what she might and might not like, but for the most part left the day up to her. Thus, they strolled up and down Fifth Avenue and Broadway for a bit before grabbing an early lunch and going to Kate's most anticipated attraction: The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

"Why does it not surprise me in the least that you wanted to see this?" Rick teased as their walking slowed to a stop beneath the behemoth fir. "You are your father's daughter."

"Shut up." She laughed and elbowed him. "I didn't just want to come here because it's a tree. It's…iconic."

"Sure…."

"C'mon; let's get closer." Ignoring his attempt to further tease her, she grabbed his hand and pulled him as close as they could get to the tree. Then, after realizing she could also watch those skating down on the Center's rink, she dragged him to that vantage point as well.

As the skating rink was a popular sight to witness, the observation areas were much more crowded and Kate found herself getting quite jostled by the crowd. She was so determined to get up close that she didn't think much of it, until she glanced back and noticed the less than pleased expression on her companion's face; it hit her like a bag of ice to the face.

"Oh god Rick I'm so sorry. Is this upsetting you?"

"What?" he replied in a tone that made it clear he genuinely didn't know what she was talking about.

"This—the crowds. I know you said they make you anxious and I just forced you into crowd central. I'm so sor-"

"Kate." He cut her off with a head shake. "I'm fine; don't worry about it."

She bit down on her bottom lip, not sure if she should believe him or if he was only saying that so she didn't feel bad. "Well, we can go if-"

"Honestly I'm fine. I…it's okay being here with you." He looped his arm around her shoulders and encouraged her forward so she could look down at the skaters. Truthfully, he didn't mind. So the crowd was not his favorite thing and, yes, every now and then someone roughly bumping into him would startle him a bit, but Kate made him feel at ease. Every time he started to feel anxious about the tight space, he looked at her face, saw the joy etched into it, and the tightness in his chest began to fade away.

Once Kate had her fill of watching the skaters, Rick suggested they begin making their way back to his apartment. The streets were already being closed for those gathering in Times Square for the ball dropping and travel throughout the city would only become more annoying as the day wore on. He'd already gathered enough groceries for them to make dinner so there was no need for them to venture out for the rest of the night.

On the way back, they discussed the financial situation at the mill in greater detail. Evidently, Jim wanted Kate to assure Rick that his money would be put to good use in several ways one of which being the purchase of some desperately needed new parts for their saw blades. Their conversation also faded into what Kate's tasks were day-to-day at the mill when she wasn't spending half her time selling Christmas trees. She promised him all her tasks were boring and accounting related, but he didn't care; he just liked being with her and listening to her talk.

"What about you?" she asked when they arrived back at his mother's apartment.

"Hmm?"

"What are you going to do now that you're back at home and not hauling Christmas trees onto people's cars?"

He let out a breathy chuckle. "Oh…I guess I was going to try writing again."

"Yeah?" she asked, her excitement building not just as his girlfriend, but as a fan.

He shrugged. "Yeah I mean…I don't know. After everything that happened with Alexis I really lost my passion for it and it never really came back—not even during my time overseas. I wrote snippets here in there mostly stream of conscious; more like journal entries than anything but…yeah I'm kinda kicking around some ideas. Dunno if my publisher will go for them."

"Why?"

"They're not mysteries."

Kate nodded. She was not fully informed on the inner workings of the publishing industry, but she guessed that once a writer was successful in a genre—like Rick had been with his murder mysteries—the publisher would not want that writer to stray too far from their tried-and-true format. "Are you done with that genre?"

He sucked in a deep breath before answering. "For now I have to be. I just can't write about murder right now…after everything I saw…"

Kate's heart clenched when she watched his eyes cloud over with emotions she couldn't begin to understand. She stepped up beside him and rested her palms flat against his chest. "I can't even imagine."

He offered her a half smile and placed his hands over his. "I consider myself one of the lucky ones, you know? I don't really have ill effects, which is in part because of my writing. At least, that's my theory—no way to prove it…"

"What do you mean?"

He walked over to the couch and sat down; she joined him. "Well, as a writer I spent so much time inventing my own worlds, my own scenarios. An alternate reality, if you will. That's the place where my head usually was, even during those times—especially during those times."

Kate could feel the heaviness of his words drape down over her shoulders. She didn't like the weight; it was uncomfortable. She did not want to discount his experiences in the least, but unlike with the death of his daughter, she had no hopes of ever relating to the experiences she had during war. Instead, she attempted to lighten the mood and hoped it didn't upset him further. "So…what you're saying is you didn't go crazy because you already are?"

He pursed his lips immediately and gave her a side gaze. "Very funny Kate."

She could see the smile hidden beneath his expression so she laughed gently and looped her arms around his neck. "Sorry. You're not crazy; you're a sweet, kid, generous, amazing man."

When Kate pressed her lips to his cheek he patted her arm. "No need to butter me up Kate; I'm already in love with you."

She shrugged innocently. "C'mon; I'll help you with dinner."

* * *

After a delicious meal during which Rick and Kate spent as much time laughing as they did eating and preparing the food, Kate wandered out to the living area of the apartment to turn on the television per Rick's instructions. He was hoping to catch some of the New Years' Eve set up activities on the local news which, in his words were, always entertaining. Kate turned the TV on, but was unable to find the news station with the unfamiliar cable provider, so she instead wandered to the piano tucked in the corner of the apartment's main living space.

The shiny black baby grand barely fit into the tight space, but there it sat, leaving Kate to wonder its significance. Did Rick play? Did his mother? Was it, by chance, an inherited heirloom? She skimmed her fingertips across the music stand and observed the cluster of family photographs displayed on the piano back.

As she had arrived late the evening before, her tour of the apartment had been brief and she had not had a chance to take everything in. Rick had explained that with his first book successes he'd helped his mother upgrade her apartment and purchased one of his own. When he entered the military, there was no need for him to keep his own space, especially since it only saddened him with memories of a happier time, so he sold it along with most of his furniture, and stayed in the second bedroom of his mother's place whenever he was on leave.

Atop the piano Kate found a variety of old pictures that made her smile. One, a black and white of a beautiful woman Kate guessed to be Rick's mother. Another of the same woman and Rick clearly taken when the writer was in his late teens or early twenties judging by his youthful appearance. A photo frame of two side-by-side pictures sat behind the one of mother and son. The left picture was of an infant no older than a month; the right of a little girl with brilliant orange hair pulled up in a blue and white polka dot bow that matched the dress she wore. This, Kate presumed, was Alexis.

"Hey did you find the—oh." Rick's voice cut off when he spotted Kate examining the picture.

"Sorry," she said hastily, stepping back from the picture as though it contained international secrets.

"No, no it's fine." He walked over to it and gazed down with a tempered smile. "Mother bought her that dress; she loved it on Alexis. Meredith hated it so that was always a source of drama, but that picture is one of Mother's favorites. Mine…" He let his voice drift off as he walked to the bookshelves on the other side of the room. From the second shelf from the top he plucked a photo frame and passed it to her. "This is mine."

Kate took the picture and her heart clenched when she saw it. Rick had the brilliant haired little girl perched on her shoulders. Rather than sitting upright, she was leaning forward with her chest resting on his head, her arms wrapped around his chin; both appeared to be laughing. "She's beautiful," Kate commented before handing the photo back.

Rick gazed down at it with no small amount of reverence. "After she died I…I didn't want to feel happiness; joy. In the weeks after her death laughing was as foreign a concept as flapping my arms like wings and taking flight…smiles started to come a little easier, but every time I would feel the slightest bit of happiness it would remind me that she wasn't there to share it with. That's one of the reasons I sold my apartment, so many of my things. I just…I didn't want the reminders."

Kate nodded and stepped closer to him. She recalled similar feelings for the weeks and months following her mother's death. Cleaning out her mother's closet of belongings had been one of the hardest things she'd ever done. If it had been under her control, she probably would have sold the house and moved as well.

"It's not a great way to live, you know? Well, of course you know." He added, offering a slight smile. He returned the photo to its prior resting spot before sitting down on the couch. Kate sat beside him.

"What about now?"

"Now? I'm trying to live my life like you said in your card. I knew I needed to, but the card was my push and I've spent the past year trying. I'm still trying but…now." He paused and brought his hand up to brush a few strands of hair off her forehead. "Now, you bring me joy."

Kate felt the tingles of happiness flood her spine as she leaned her face against his and gave him a kiss. He brought her joy as well; more than she ever thought possible. Every little thing, it seemed, brought her more and more happiness: from the way he smiled when he saw her—like it had been weeks when only minutes had passed—to the way he asked about her feelings on her father's struggling business instead of just telling her to cut her losses. She loved him; there was no doubt about that.

Standing from the couch she grabbed Rick's arm and tugged him along with her. He stood, though with a furrowed brow. "Where are you taking me?"

She quirked her eyebrows at him. "Where do you think?"

"I—oh. Kate." He stopped their progress by digging his heels into the rug and she gazed at him slightly perplexed. Some blush creeping into his cheeks he confessed, "I haven't—I mean. It's, ah, been a while since-"

She stepped in and covered his mouth with hers. Bringing both hands up to cup his face, she said, "I know; I kind of figured. That's okay with me. Unless you want to wai-"

"No!" He jumped in before she'd even finished the word. Her brow rose and he added more casually, "I mean…I don't think that's necessary."

She smiled at him. "Just checking."

* * *

 _A/N: happy new year! 1 more chapter tomorrow then the epilogue on Saturday. :)_


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter Eighteen**

Kate awoke on New Years' Day to a disappointingly empty bed. She blinked up at the ceiling for a few minutes before reaching for her phone to discover it was only shortly before eight a.m. Not bad considering the prior night after making love, Rick and Kate had managed to tear themselves from bed only long enough to watch the ball drop at midnight, after which they returned to the bedroom for some New Year's celebrating of their own.

After pulling on her pajamas Kate shuffled her way out of the bedroom and followed the scent of coffee to the living area where Rick sat on a chair, his laptop open in his lap as he tapped away at the keys. "You're up early," she commented before plopping down on the couch.

"Wha—oh. Good morning." He smiled though remained distracted by the screen in front of him.

She gave him an amused look. "Writing?"

"Ah—yes. Kind of." He glanced at her, but only for a millisecond before turning back to her writing.

"I can…leave you alone if you prefer."

"Oh no, no," He assured quickly. "Just give me one second…"

With his tongue curled between his teeth, Rick tapped out three more sentences before saving his document and shutting the laptop screen. He then slid from his chair to join the beautiful woman on the couch. Greeting her with a kiss he said. "Hi—sorry—Happy New Year."

She dusted her fingertip down the center of his chest. "It has been so far. Starting another book?" she asked, nodding her head towards the computer.

"Oh no, no—nothing like that. Just getting some dialogue down. You know—getting the juices flowing again."

She hummed. "Well that sounds good. Did you want to work on that today? Or do something else?"

"Yes; you." He replied, straight faced. When her jaw dropped, he laughed loudly. "Sorry, sorry—you totally set me up for that one."

Despite herself, she laughed. "Guess I did, didn't I?"

"Mmmm." He sighed as he brought his lips to her neck and slipped one of his hands beneath the bottom of her pajama top.

"Rick!"

He hummed and began to suck on her pulse point while his fingertips adeptly unbuttoned the top of her pajamas. She brushed his hand away and he glanced up at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing just…shouldn't we move?"

"To where?"

"The bedroom."

"Why?"

"Because…" Her cheeks turned a noticeable pink shade when she said, "We're on the couch."

"And we're alone in the apartment." He concluded before bringing his lips back to her neck. When she didn't respond to his touch he looked back up at her. "Is there something wrong with the couch?"

Kate let out a heavy exhale. "Okay, you're totally going to judge me when I say this but: I've never had sex on a couch before." She let a beat go by before asking. "Are you surprised?"

"Kind of…?" His voice trailed off and his brow furrowed. "I mean, I guess that's not the most shocking thing but…may I ask why?"

"I guess mainly because I've never lived alone. I was either with my dad or with roommates."

Rick considered this. Living with roommates or his mother had never stopped him before, but to each their own. "Well, we're alone right now and…I won't tell my mother if you don't." He wiggled his eyebrows at her in a naughty way before unbuttoning the final button on her pajama top.

She snagged her bottom lip with her teeth as his hands splayed over her breasts. "Well, ah, guess there's a first time for everything…"

* * *

An hour later, too sated to even consider moving, Kate sat curled up on the couch with her body lined up against a dozing Rick's arm. A fleece blanket covered them both; their pajamas lay forgotten on the floor. Though she had no desire to move from their cocoon—ever—her bladder had other ideas. When she began to force herself from sleep Kate smiled up at her companion. From that point forward she was definitely pro sex on the couch.

A few minutes later, redressed in her pajamas and with a re-heated cup of coffee in her hand, Kate returned to the couch and sat as her lover began to stir. He gave her a lazy smile and reached for his flannel pants but she stopped him. "Might as well leave those off," she said with a wink.

He laughed inwardly. "Funny, but I'm starving and it's a little too chilly to make breakfast without pants."

She let out a dramatic sigh, though she was mostly teasing. "Fine. If you must…"

"So…pancakes?"

"Sure."

Kate sat happily on a kitchen stool, sipping her coffee as Rick moved around the kitchen, gathering ingredients, mixing them into batter, and then turning to the stove. She'd volunteered to help, but he refused stating that they were going to kick off the New Year with him making her breakfast.

As she at the best pancakes she'd ever eaten, Kate continually glanced up at her companion. He was too busy eating and skimming through the news on his phone to notice, which thankfully gave her the opportunity to watch him. With each new thing she noticed—like the way his brow crinkled as he concentrated on reading, or the way his hair was beginning to grow longer and soon it would be long enough for her to card her hands through as she kissed him—she realized how sad she would be to leave the following morning.

There she was again on the cusp of a long-distance relationship, only this time everything was different. Without even being prompted by her, Rick had spoken of intentions to transport his life to Hinsdale. He loved her and seemed interested in keeping their relationship a partnership and not completely controlling everything they did and balking when she wanted to do something different. She had already experienced more kindness from him in less than a month than she felt from Josh during their entire relationship.

Feeling nearly overwhelmed with her emotions, Kate sipped her coffee, cleared her throat and said, "So…maybe we should talk about what happens when I leave tomorrow."

"Okay." He agreed. He pushed his phone aside and set down his fork before looking up at her. "So what were you thinking? Alternating weekends here and in Hinsdale? If we do that, I can always make the weekends I stay up there long weekends. Especially right now. There's nothing I really need to be here for…"

"Actually." Her heart fluttered in her chest at the words about to exit her mouth. Yes, it was a little scary and yes, maybe it was too soon, but it felt right and she knew that was the most important factor. "I was thinking…are you still open to the idea of getting an apartment in Hinsdale…or Brattleboro…or, you know, somewhere north of Connecticut." She added with a light laugh.

Rick stood from his stool, walked around and pressed a kiss into her forehead. "Of course. As long as you're sure that's what you want."

She nodded and looped her arms around his neck. "I want to be near you…with you. Only seeing you on weekends wouldn't be enough."

"I happen to agree." He pressed a kiss on her lips before removing both their plates from the counter and carrying them to the dishwasher. She followed with their coffee mugs.

"You know I was thinking about something I never asked you."

He glanced over at her. "What's that?"

She leaned her hip against the counter. "What would you have said to me—that first day in Hinsdale? Assuming my father's accident hadn't happened, I mean."

Rick folded his arms over his chest as he thought back to the day four weeks prior. "Oh, ah, I dunno. Truly. I was looking at those ornaments waiting for you to have a minute alone so I could talk to you. I guess…I guess I was going to show you the card and thank you and…well, pretty much what I said in my letter—except without the bit about loving you."

She hummed and drummed her fingertips against the counter, clearly mulling over his words. After a minute, when she didn't say anything, Rick prompted her with, "What would you have said?"

"I don't know." She looked up at him and tilted her head. "I was trying to think. It's hard to conceptualize what would have happened that day if the car hadn't spun out of control…if you hadn't been there when you were. I guess…I guess I would have been pleasantly surprised that my card had reached someone. I might have invited you to lunch or… I don't know, but I don't want to think about it."

His brow wrinkled. "Why do you say that?"

"Because." She stepped forward and placed her hands on his folded arms. "If any of that happened we wouldn't be here now."

He nodded. "Things happen for a reason."

She smiled gently, nodded and then fell into his arms, tucking her head beneath his chin. If someone had asked her six weeks earlier if she believed things happened for a reason, she could not have given a definitive response. But now, on the cusp of starting a new year with a man she waited her whole life to find, she was absolutely, one hundred percent, without any question a believer that everything happened for a reason.

* * *

 _A/n: epilogue will be up tomorrow! Happy New Year!_


	20. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"Rick." Kate grumbled at her boyfriend as her foot landed on an unstable surface.

"Sorry!" His hands gripped her waist tighter and pulled her body closer to his chest so that his feet waddled just outside hers as they walked awkwardly down the path.

"This isn't—hey!" She complained when he smacked her hands away from the blindfold she wore.

"Two seconds…"

She huffed. "If you recall the last time this didn't work out so well."

"Really? Because the last time we did this we had our first kiss so I think that worked out pretty damn well if you ask me…"

Kate opened her mouth to argue, but then shut it again; she had no basis for argument as her boyfriend was one hundred percent correct. "Still, I'd prefer to see where I was going."

"Well you're in luck—you can take off the blindfold."

"Really?"

"Yep!"

Wasting no time, Kate pulled the scarf from her face and blinked to adjust her eyes to the light. She realized she stood on a brick path leading up to a beautiful wooden home. The exterior was reminiscent of the cabin office at the mill, only the home was clearly constructed much more recently. Plus, it was probably four times as large. She spun around on the spot to find that they were in a rather isolated wooded area with the house resting in what she suspected to be a man-made clearing. To the left, past her boyfriend's dopy grin, she could see the driveway. His black jeep was parked at the top, but the bottom could not be seen; it disappeared into the rows of trees.

"Where…are we?"

His answer came in the form of grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the cranberry red front door of the home. "C'mon; let's look inside."

"Wha—what do you mean? Who lives here?"

"No one for the moment." He unlocked the door and let them inside to reveal an expansive two-story foyer lined with exposed beams arching overhead. To her right sat an office, the bookshelves built into the walls void of novels; the floor bare wood. To her left, a formal dining area with red walls and white trim. As she stepped further into the room she found herself at the center of a large two-story living area with one wall taken up almost entirely with a gray and charcoal stone hearth. The entire home felt like a fairytale and she hadn't even seen all of it yet.

Turning back to her companion Kate asked, "Rick what are we doing here?"

He dipped his hands into his pockets and shrugged. "Realtor lent me the key. Thought we might want to take a look around without him pressuring us."

Her eyes widened as the revelation settled over her. "The house is for sale?"

He hummed in response. "The owners had enough of the harsh winters and snow so they bought a condo in Sarasota, Florida. It's only been on the market a little while so it's completely move in ready; we just need furniture."

"How much?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Rick."

"Less than my New York apartment."

"Rick!" She half-laughed, half-grumbled at his avoidance of her question.

"Seven fifty, but I think I can talk him down to seven."

She felt her heart come to a stop. "Seven…seven hundred thousand." That was more money than the mill made in the prior decade—combined.

"Kate." His tone was soothing as he walked up and cupped her face. "Don't worry about it. I only care if you like it. If you want it; it's ours. If not, we'll look for other options."

She snagged her bottom lip with her teeth and her heart fluttered at a key word in his statement. "Ours?"

He beamed down at her. The month-to-month apartment rental he'd found just outside Brattleboro had been fine—for a month, but that was it. The walls were thin, the heating insufficient, but without wanting to commit to a longer lease it was the best he could find. He understood that the rural areas of Vermont and New Hampshire did not have as many living options as Manhattan and that was fine, but something needed done.

A week earlier, as he and Kate were lying on the couch in her father's house mindlessly watching television, Kate began to tease him when a jewelry ad for Valentine's Day played on the screen. At first, he thought she might be seriously hinting for something shiny, which he would have been fine with, but then she laughed, kissed him and said they'd only been together for six weeks; he didn't need to get her anything.

It was then Rick got the idea. Perhaps he didn't need to get _her_ something, but what if he got _them_ something? And, when he found the perfect place…well, things did happen for a reason.

"Of course ours. I'm not asking you to move in with me right away—though you may if you want to—but I absolutely know that whatever house I buy here you're going to end up living in it, so of course I want you to love it."

She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss before continuing her exploration of the home. "Where are we, by the way? I mean, how far from the mill?" As she had been blindfolded, her perception of their travel had been skewed. Rick picked her up from the mill and they had not been in the car that long, but she did not know in which direction they traveled.

"Ah yeah." He began with a slight cringe. "That's the one down side. We're actually about fifteen minutes north of the mill."

Kate couldn't help but laugh. "That would put us in the middle of nowhere."

"Pretty much…"

She arched an eyebrow at him. "And you're going to be ok with that, Manhattan man?"

He shrugged. "It's tranquil; I like it. Plus it adds to my tortured writer mystique."

She rolled her eyes at him before continuing through the kitchen and then traveling up the stairs to see the two smaller bedrooms, a loft which could be used as a second office or play area, and bathroom. What really won her over, though, was the master suite complete with a fireplace that could be seen from both the expansive bedroom itself and the adjoining bathroom, which she quickly discovered to be larger than her bedroom at her father's house.

After her tour, she rejoined her companion downstairs, looped her arms around his neck and gave him a long kiss. "I love it."

He beamed. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Good…'cause I already gave the realtor an offer."

"Rick!"

His smile turned more innocent. "Don't worry, I told him to hold it until I return the key just in case, but I was pretty sure you'd love it."

"It's…a dream." She leaned her body into his knowing she spoke not just about the house but their relationship as well. Perhaps it had only been seven weeks, but it felt like much longer. Besides, their amount time together didn't matter; she knew they would spend the rest of their lives together.

* * *

 _A/N: I'm so sad to see this fic end because it was a lot of fun - and a lot of writing for one month! I'm so glad to see that many of you enjoyed it as well. Thank you all so much for your follows/favorites/reviews! I love this universe so much that you might be getting a few more pieces here and there...but I make no promises!_

 _As for what's next: my second Rom-Com fic **Speak Now** based on the movie "Made of Honor" will be posted in a few weeks. Until then, enjoy 2016 and thanks for reading!_


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